101 



it seems certain that tlie aut discovery has al- 

 ready been overworked and its importance much ex- 

 aggerated. Hunter & Hinds, 1904, say: "There is at 

 present, therefore, no promise of any considerable as- 

 sistance in the control of the weevil by any parasite now 

 known. * * * Even should one be found which could 

 attack the weevil in some stage, it would probably still 

 fail to be an efficient means of control. * * * " 



Certain predatory insects other than the Guatemalan 

 ant may serve to check the weevil, but the work of all 

 such insects combined is comparatively of little import- 

 ance when compared with the cultural methods mention- 

 ed below. 



And there seems to be but little hope of securing a 

 fungus parasite that Avill be of any service in killing 

 weevils. A study of the history and outcome of the use 

 of the "chinch bug" fungus and later the grasshopper 

 fungus shows how utterly impracticable any such meth- 

 od is certain to be. 



In connection with the appearance of such an import- 

 ant pest as the boll weevil there is certain to be a host of 

 useless remedial and preventive measures suggested. It 

 would be a waste of space to even mention all these 

 schemes here. Considerable attention has been devoted 

 to devising some method of spraying the cotton plants in 

 hopes of killing the weevils. We may for the present dis- 

 miss any spraying scheme with a quotation from Hunter 

 & Hinds, 1904, who say: "Spraying of a field crop has 

 never been a success, and, unless entirely new methods 

 are eventually perfected, never will be of any practical 

 importance." 



Of course the suggestion made from time to time that 

 some substance mav be mixed with the fertilizer which 

 will be distasteful to the weevil when absorbed by the 

 plant is absurd. 



It has proven impossible to devise a machine that will 

 enable one to collect from the ground the fallen squares. 



And it is even more absurd to hope to find any sort of 

 cotton that the boll weevil will not care to eat. There is 

 a limit to the profitable variation in the cotton plant to 

 be induced bv breeding and selection and there is cer- 



