110 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 
shoots which wither and turn brown, (2) in the buds which wither or 
fall off to the ground, (3) in flowers which also wither and fall and (4) 
lastly inside the bolls which they destroy by eating the seeds and filling 
them with excrement, but when newly formed bolls are attacked, these 
also drop to the ground. Thus it is clear that there are three stages in 
the growth of the cotton plant when caterpillars are hkely to be thrown 
off the plants if the branches are shaken, eithernaturally as during a 
storm and a heavy shower of rain, or by artificial means. These stages 
are (1) when the plants are throwing out buds or (2) flowers and (3) when 
flowers are just turning into bolls. The affected buds, flowers and newly 
formed bolls fall to the ground and with them the caterpillars which 
feed inside them. The caterpillars which are inside the shoots or inside 
such bolls as are in advanced stages of growth, are not at all affected 
this way, for the storm “ may bend but shall never break ” the tender 
shoots, and the large sized bolls have the stalk sufficiently developed, which 
keeps them firm and intact on the branches. 
Thus it will be seen that according to this theory the good resulting 
from rain is governed by three factors :—First that a heavy rain should 
follow a wind storm, secondly that this should happen at a time when 
the bollworm is chiefly in the cotton buds, flowers and young bolls ; 
and thirdly the soil should not be very pervious. When and where 
these three circumstances combine the cotton crop is bound to be bene- 
fited. 
In the South-West Punjab the annual rainfall is poor and is very 
scanty during the summer months; but the land is visited by rather 
frequent dust-storms during this period of the year. The cotton crop 
there is grown under irrigation and there is no dearth of water on account 
of the excellent canal system. The cultivators get water for their areas 
according to turns which have been fixed by the Canal Authorities. 
But if the cultivators could get water for irrigating their fields just after 
a heavy wind-storm the effect produced would be very similar to a heavy 
shower of rain succeeding a storm and consequently would be beneficial 
to the standing crop. This appears to be rather difficult to arrange 
as there would be considerable technical difficulties put forward by the 
Irrigation Department. The next best step thought of, therefore, was 
to produce artificially the same effect as that of a wind storm by artifi- 
cially shaking the plants just before irrigating them. And this is quite 
possible. I had to return to Pusa and as winter had set in I had to 
mention it in my report only as a suggestion of line of work to be taken 
up next year, by the Assistant Professor of Entomology, Agricultural 
College, Lyallpur. J am glad to learn that he did take up this line of 
