The Prescott daily news., 1916-06-26
THE CONTROL OF
 THE RED SPIDER
Cotton Growers in Southeast Some Seasons Lose S2,000,000 According to Recent Study by Department of Agriculture.

Washington, D. C., June 26.--The loss to cotton growers in the South west from the red spider may amount in some seasons to two million dol lars, according to a recent study of this pest made by the U, $. Depart ment of Agriculture. Many planters believe that the cotton plants affected by this insect are suffering from rust. The injury, however, is not due 10 a disease, but to the presence on the cotton leaves of multitudes of the small mites commonly known as red spiders. These suck the juices from the leaves and cause them first to redden or turn a rusty yellow ever the entire surface, and ultimately to dry up and drop. The loss of foliage is always accompanied by the she'd ding of bolls and the yield from the field is materially reduced
 To prevent injury to cotton from this cause the Department of Agri- culture recommends, in Farmers Bull letin 735, by E. A. McGregor, the des truction of all weeds around the farm during the winter and early spring, the spraying of certain culvlated plants around dwellings,, the mainten- ance of finely pulverized surface soil in the cotton field the destruction by blowing up and burning of plants or areas that become infested early, and finally spraying if the infestaton be- comes general.
 The red spider may ravage cotton fields at any time from the middle of June to the middle of September. Certain fields are infested while oth- CTS in the immediate vicinity remain quite free. The total extent of the injury, however, is likely to be very serious. In 1912, for example, two ffths of the cotton crop in South Carolina was damaged by this insect.
 The great mass of red spiders pass the winter on wild plants. With he first warm days in the spring they begin to multiply with great raDidity  and it becomes necessary for them to seek new feeding grounds. They at tack whatever weeds and garden plants they may meet and ultimately find their way into the cotton fields. In the late fall when cotton is no longer available for them, the spiders migrate again to the wild plants which are frequently found in the borders of fields, and it has been as certained that in many cases they in fest violet beds Altogether, this insect has been found breeding on nearly 200 species of plants, the 2ost common of which are cotton, cUlti- vated violet, SOW thistle. hollyhock. dahha, garden beans, corn, tomato, onion, carnation, sweet pea, hadge nettle, nasturtium, morning glory, clover, wild vetch, ironweed, Jerusa- lem oak, wild geranium, evening primrose, pokeweed and strawberry.
 Many of these plants are useless weeds which can well be destroyed Where this has been done in and around cotton fields, it has been found in several instances that complete i'm munity from the pest has beea en- joyed the following season. Many eases of cotton infestation from the red spider, however, can be tracei to cultivated plants in nearby dooryards. Such plants should be examined close ly and sprayed as soon as they show any signs of infestation. The gov ernment investigators have tested large number of spray combinations in their work against the red spider and have found that the following are thoroughly satisfactory: CD pouas- sium sulphid, q ounce to gallons of water); CD lime sulphur Homemade or commerciaD; (3) kerosene emul- sion (prepared according to usual formula); (4) four-paste solution q gallon of stock paste to 12 gallons of water) Any one of these sprays if properly applied will kill all the mites, but second spraying one week later is necessary to kill the in- sects that were in the egg stage at the first spraying. It is also of the utmost importance to remember that the mite spends its life on the under side of the leaves The entire under side of every leaf of an infested plant, therefore, must be hit by the spray in