24 



THE MEXICAN COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL. 



line of Lamar County to the western line of Brazoria County. In 

 this region the rainfall is 45 inches per year or more. It comprises 

 the counties listed below. 1 Practically the whole area is covered 

 with forests. It covers 40,180 square miles. Central Texas com- 

 prises a broad belt from the Gulf to the Red River, beginning on the 

 west with the limit of the belt of 32 inches normal annual rainfall, 

 and extends eastward to the line just described as defining the 

 western boundary of the eastern Texas area. Central Texas consists 

 of 45 counties 2 and comprises 38,868 square miles. 



It is for the most part prairie country, although there are wooded 

 valleys and occasional strips of timbered uplands. Western Texas 

 comprises the remainder of Texas, beginning with the line marking 

 the western limit of the area of 32 inches normal annual precipita- 

 tion. It is largely a prairie region, though wooded valleys are 

 numerous. Another factor in differentiating western Texas from 

 central Texas is the increased elevation. 



A careful study has been made of the manner in which the weevil 

 has affected the production of cotton in the three regions mentioned. 

 Use has been made of the Census records of production from 1899 to 

 1910, a period of 12 years, as shown in Table IV: 



Table IV. — Eastern, central, and western Texas cotton production compared, 1899-1910 



from United States Census. 



[500-pound bales.] 



In eastern Texas the production for five years ending with 1903 

 averaged 24 per cent of the total crop of Texas. During the same 

 series of five years western Texas averaged 19 per cent of the total 



i Red Paver, Bowie, Franklin, Titus, Morris, Cass, Wood, Camp, Upshur, Marion, Harrison, Smith, 

 Gregg, Cherokee, Husk, Panola, Nacogdoches, Shelby, San Augustine, Sabine, Angelina, Trinity, San 

 Jacinto, Polk, Tyler ; Jasper, Newton, Liberty, Hardin, Orange, Jefferson, Chambers Galveston, Lamar, 

 Delta, Hopkins, Rains, Van Zandt, Henderson, Freestone, Anderson, Leon, Houston, Madison, Waller, 

 Grimes, Walker, Montgomery, Harris, Fort Bend, and Brazoria. 



2 Central Texas counties: Cooke, Grayson, Fannin, Denton, Collin, Hunt, Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwall, 

 Kaufman, Johnson, Ellis, Bosque, Hill," Navarro, McLennan, Limestone, Bell, Falls, Williamson, Milam, 

 Robertson, Brazos, Travis. Lee, Burleson, Washington, Hays, Bastrop, Caldwell, Fayette, Colorado, 

 Austin, Guadalupe, Gonzales, Lavaca, Wharton, Dewitt, Goliad, Victoria, Jackson, Refugio, Calhoun, 

 Matagorda, and Aransas. 



' Including counties grouped by Census under " All other." 



