42 



abundant, and especially where the rainfall amounts 

 to more than 4 inches per month. The first of these 

 steps is the hand picking of the hibernated weevils 

 from tlic young plants at the time that squares begin 

 to form. This step will pay if it is possible to find 

 fifty or more weevils per acre at the time. In some 

 cases more than 2000 weevils per acre have been thus 

 picked and destroyed. The weevils may be crushed 

 as they are captured or dropped into a bottle contain- 

 ing a little kerosene. The conspicuous sign of the 

 presence of weevils at this stage of the cotton is the 

 appearance of small, black, dead leaves in the tender 

 bud of the plant. In this work it is advisable to use 

 the hoop and sack described below. 



Destroy Infested Squares. — This step in weevil con- 

 trol is also necessary where weevils abound early in 

 the season, especially where the rainfall is heavy so 

 that the surface soil is moist most of the time or when 

 the air temperature in the shade does not go much 

 above 90 degrees F. as lower temperatures are not 

 likely to kill many of the weevil stages even if the 

 ground is dry. Picking of infested squares should be 

 done thoroughly, taking the evidently injured squares 

 from the plants as well as the fallen squares from the 

 ground. It should be begun within ten days after the 

 appearance of the first bloom in the field and repeated 

 every fifth daj"^ for four to six weeks. 



For fuller details regarding these two special prac- 

 tices see Alabama Press Bulletin No. 64. 



Making Hoop And Sack Outfit. — In the collection of 

 weevils, and also of many of the infested squares, it has 

 been found recently in Louisiana that a simple home- 

 made device, bearing this name, is very helpful. The 

 hoop should be a large, stout, wooden hoop some 20 

 or 22 inches in diameter, such as may be obtained any- 

 where from old sugar barrels. The sack may be made 

 of unbleached sheeting, drilling or of Osnaburg duck. 



Get a strip of cloth about eight feet long. Double 

 this strip in the middle and sew up each side to make 

 the bag- Two widths of 32 inch cloth will go around 

 a 20-inch hoop, and of 36-iuch cloth for a 22-inch hoo]). 

 It is advisable to make the sack somewhat smaller at 

 the bottom than at the top. So in sewing, start about 

 six inches in from each bottom corner and run out- 

 ward gradually so as to make the sack full width at one 

 foot from the top; continue at full width for six inches 



