Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-22
MAXIM ADVANCES
UNIQUE METHOD
To KILL WEEVILS

Several hundred years ago. when
people thought the earth was flat
and the aboriginal Americans held
undisputed sway over the mountains
and plains of a then undiscovered
continent, the boil weevil was I'M
known, perhaps non~existent.
| It was the time when the Chero-
KEGS and Yamacraws and Yemasees
and other tribes of Indians stalked
the deer throughout what is now
the cotton belt of North America,
and trapped the beaver in noun
tain streams, and-but that is the
story.
1t is possible that the very meth
DDS that were used by the willy In
dian to trap the beaver, most timid
and wary of animals, may be used
to exterminate the boil weevil, the
scourge of the cotton belt.
This is the idea Of DR.. Hudson
Maxim, inventor and scientist.
Wednesday evening, at the clos
ing session of the National Cotton
Conference for Boil Weevil Control,
at the Baptist Tabernacle, DR..
Maxim will tell his plan in technical
detail; will explain it fully.
Strong Sex Instinct
The whole scheme is based on the
fundamental principles Of sex ap-
peal, an instinct that is as old as
animal life.
Ages ago the Indians were sue
cessful in trapping the beaver. When
the white man came he failed. He
was unable to understand the In
dams method. until the Indians
themselves explained it.
1t seems they had discovered an
abnormal sex instinct in the beave"
SO they prepared substance, the
manufacture of which they explain
ed to the white man, and they rub
BED that substance on the traps. The
result was that the male beavers
walked into the traps in flocks and
droves Gf beavers went IN tlocks
and droVes) the males were killed
out, there was no more propagation
ard the species was about eXter-
minated.
DR.. Maxim has discovered that the
boil Weevil has a sex instinct even
stronger that the beaver. Further,
he has discovered that the cotton
pests sense of smell is comparable
only to the sense of sight in humans.
Recently, he said, an experiment
was performed in which female in
sect was placed in a wire cage and
male insect removed to a point
two miles distant, where he was re-
leased .. The male flew to the fe-
male, guided by its sense of smell.
Second Test Successful
!. To make assurance doubly sure the
experiment was repeated, but the
second time the sex organs were re-
moved from the female and placed
at a point some distance from the
mutilated body Of the insect.
Again the male of the species was
removed to a point two miles distant,
and again, unfailingly, he flew to-
wards the female. But the second
time he ignored the mutilated body
fthe female, and flew straight to
the microscopic organs.
DR.. Maxim proposes to isolate the
organs, determine the fundamental
chemical substance that composes
the appeal-it is thought to be
form of dimethyl amyl--embody it
in a poison and kill out the males.
There could be no propagation and
the species would be exterminated,
exactly as the beavers were extermi-
mated.
you are not going to kill out the
weevils," said DR.. Maxim, until you
get a poison that will attract him,
unfailingly OF course, if you can
get him to fly to a chunk of calcium
arsenate he will perish, but will he
fly to it? He will not-you must
carry the calcium arsenate to him.
But, furnish him with a poison
that appeals to his instinct, the
strongest instinct in his whole organ
ism, and you've got him. don't
know yet exactly what methods can
be used to isolate this fundamental
instinct, but 1T can be done by some
chemical methods. When we do
that the weevil is as good as dead"