PACKARD.] INSECTS OF THE FIELD. 223 



far as could be seen, and the plants were covered with mil- 

 lions of worms. I counted on one plant forty-six worms. 

 They commence at the top of the plant, eating every leaf. 

 When the leaves were gone they attacked the young bolls, 

 eating through the perianth and consuming the young cot- 

 ton. In the course of four days the work was done. They 

 did not touch the grape or any other plant in the field, so 

 far as I have been able to see. Many left the field, and 

 thousands were in the road and on the fences, but not one 

 in a thousand thus escaped. To-day, September 23d, there 

 is scarcely one to be seen. Their disappearance is as mys- 

 terious as their coming. They have left no signs that I can 

 see, either on the stalks or in the ground. They have ex- 

 tended over hundreds of miles, and nothing has proved a 

 barrier to them, having been as destructive on islands in the 

 river, as elsewhere. One-third of the cotton crop has been 

 destroyed. Nothing of the kind has occurred in thirty years 

 past to my knowledge." 



After the caterpillar has become fully grown, it draws a 

 leaf around it, and then changes to a chrysalis. It remains 

 in this state for one or two weeks, when the moth escapes. 



In dealing with this insect, the only practicable way to 

 diminish its powers of doing mischief is for all the cotton 

 planters to combine and employ hand-picking, looking over 

 the leaves for the eggs when the moths lay them, and again 

 picking off the worms when they are detected. The use of 

 carbolic acid, cresylic soap-suds and other washes have been 

 recommended. 



This insect seems to appear wherever cotton is raised. It 

 is very destructive in the West Indies and in South Amer- 

 ica, and either this or a similar insect occurs in Egypt. It 

 is also sometimes found in New York, and I have taken 

 several specimens late in the summer on an island in Salem 

 harbor, Massachusetts. Mr. Grote thinks that away from 

 the Gulf States the whole brood dies every year, and that 



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