The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1911-12-13
THE WEEvIL IS DEATH PROOF
HE'LL EVEN GO THROUGH COT
TON GIN UNSCATHED.
VIII Travel in Vehicles, Begging and
Small Packets of Seed, OuthObO-
inc Freight Train Expert.

ing Freight Train Expert.
At the meeting of the southern
states entomologists in Atlanta, in
connection with the corn show, two
interesting talks were made by w.
Dwight Pierce, the government ex-
pert, who is connected directly with
the boil weevil work of the govern
ment, and is with the department in
Dallas, Texas, presided over by Dr..
W D. Hunter.
Mr.. Pierce's talks, says an Atlanta
dispatch to the Macon Telegraph,
dealt with two phases of the weeyil, a
plague which he predicts Georgia
will have in the fall of 1913 or the
spring Of 1914. One of his talks dis
cussed the general topic, with his
tory of its movement and control
The other talk dealt with the distri-
button of the insect and the changed
conditions that must be met. His
first talk was as follows:
Distribution of Weevil.
The study of the distribution of
the boil weevil is of extreme import
ance to all cotton growers and to all
eutOmOlOgists who are concerned in
the struggle against this insect. Dur
ing the early stages of the weeviIs
progress in Texas its territory was
widening in all directions. Finally
in western Texas it seems to have
reached what may be considered
barrier against its progress. We do
not know for certain whether this
barrier is the altitude or the dryness
or the winter cold, but we are much
inclined to believe that it is a com
binatiOn of all these conditions to-
getheT. The boil weevil has never
been found at an altitude above
1000 feet. 1t cannot stand the cold
lower than II degrees Fahrenheit
It cannot stand hot, dry summers
with the temperature Of the soil
reaching 123 degrees. This soil tenn
perature is frequently reached when
the air temperature is about 100 de-
gTees. After the western progress
was stopped the weevil was only able
to gain territory to the north and
east. 1t has during the past year
reached the northern limit of the cot
ton belt in northwestern Arkansas.
During the years 1904 to 1911 it sue
ceeded in infesting an average of 27,-
600 square miles per year In 1911
it gained $4,000 square miles on the
eastern edge of it's territory, but
lost 10000 square miles in Okla
hOma and Texas. At the present rate
of movement it viii take fourteen
or fifteen years to cover the entire
cotton belt.
How 1t Spreads.
We may divide the distribution of
the weevil into two sections. natural
and the artificial. The natural spread
is either voluntary or involuntary.
Probably the most interesting meth |
cd Of spread is that which we have
called the voluntary, natural spread. |
In the spring the weevils leave their |
winter quarters in search for food |
and sometimes are forced to fly con-
siderable distances before they find |
cotton When the weevils have en- |
tered the cotton fields they are gen
orally concentrated in early spring in |
some corner or edge of the field. AS |
new generations develop they grad |
uaIy spread from these first infected !
portions throughout the entire cot
ton field. AS summer approaches
the fields are fairly well infested and
it becomes necessary to fly from one
field to another in search of more
abundant food. Rapidly the infesta-
tons become so great that it is nee
essary to dy greater distances. 1t
usually occurs that the maximum in
testation in reached about August /.
At this time begins the great disper-
sions which spread the boil weevils
over many miles of new territory.
The flying weeYils probably cover so
to Zoe miles, sometimes, in their
search for food. At the approach of
frosts We find the last movement of
the year in the fight to winter quar-
-eTs.
There are probably two general
!