OBSERVATIONS IN 1905. 15 



rial, including nine stomachs taken in summer, furnishes no additional 

 records of boll weevils eaten by this bird. 



The two remaining species, the brown tln-asher and the black- 

 crested titmouse, find a place in the list of boll weevil destroyers on 

 the strength of having eaten a single weevil each. 



RESULTS OF OBSERVATIONS IN 1905. 



STATUS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL. 



The winter of 1904-5 was unusually severe in Texas, and the 

 spring was remarkable for excessive rainfall over a large part of the 

 cotton-growing area of the State. The months of July and August 

 were characterized by extremely hot, dry weather. To what extent 

 the winter climatic conditions reduced the numbers of weevils it is 

 difficult to state, but it is certain that during the spring arid early 

 summer of 1905 weevils were much less numerous than they usually 

 are at that season. This is shown both by the comparatively slight 

 amount of damage done to the cotton crop during the early part of 

 the growing season and by the small number of adult weevils found 

 in July in many cotton fields known to have been seriously infested 

 at a corresponding date in 1904. The entire absence of boll weevil 

 remains from the stomachs of many species of birds known to eat 

 the boll weevil, taken in February, March, and May, also indicates 

 the extreme scarcity of the weevils at that season. Gaut examined 

 several thousand young cotton plants at Columbus in May and was 

 unable to find a single weevil. The ^vriter visited the same locality 

 the last week in July and found the infestation even then very slight. 

 This was true of a number of other widely separated localities visited 

 during June and July. 



It is a well-established fact that dry, hot weather during the summer 

 months is extremely effective in checking the increase of boll weevils, 

 and their scarcity during the summer of 1905 is partially explained 

 by the prevalence of such weather. While in some localities during 

 the late summer, weevils increased sufficiently to do a moderate 

 amount of damage, at other localities which had suffered greatly from 

 their ravages in 1904 the damage during 1905 was inconsiderable, 

 and even as late as September very few adult weevils could be 

 found at these localities. 



The entire season, therefore, was not favorable for obtaming con- 

 clusive results with regard to the relations of birds and weevils. 

 Observations during a season in which weevils are more abundant 

 would doubtless show a larger number of species of birds feeding upon 

 them and a greater number of weevils consumed per bird. 



