16 Farmers’ Bulletin 1262. 
(7) The cotton plant produces many more squares than it can carry 
to maturity as bolls. This surplus is shed by the plant throughout 
the season, under normal conditions about 60 per cent of the fruit 
being shed. 
(8) Up to a certain point weevil puncturing of fruit does not re- 
duce the cotton crop, because large numbers of forms would be shed 
normally. 
(9) The weevil has a decided tendency to seek moisture wherever 
it may be found on the surface of the plant. 
DIRECT CONTROL BY POISONING WITH CALCIUM 
ARSENATE. 
In the years which have elapsed since the advent of the boll weevil 
into the United States every conceivable means of direct control of 
the weevil has been tried repeatedly. Owing to the peculiarities of 
the weevil attack which have been mentioned, most of these attempts 
have been unsuccessful. Some methods were found which would con- 
trol the weevil, but these were either impracticable or too expensive 
for use on a commercial scale. During comparatively recent years, 
however, a method of poisoning has been developed which has proved 
very successful. This consists of treatment of the plants with 
powdered calcium arsenate by a specialized method. 
It has long been known that poisoning the boll weevil is possible 
to a certain extent, but on account of the peculiar habits of the insect 
it was difficult to develop methods for the application of the poison. 
A. profitable method, however, has now been developed by the 
Bureau of Entomology. This has been tested for seven years and 
is now being adopted rather extensively by the farmers. Only a 
very brief summary of this successful method is presented here; but 
several bulletins have been issued on this subject by the Department 
of Agriculture, and all farmers interested are urged to obtain them 
and read them carefully before planning to use poison. Further- 
more, motion pictures have been prepared that visualize the proper 
methods of poisoning and show the results which can be produced. 
Anyone interested can borrow a copy of the picture free of charge, 
excepting transportation charges, by application to the Motion Pic- 
ture Office, Division of Publications, United States Department of 
Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
The first question which occurs to the cotton farmer contemplating 
poisoning is whether it will pay to do so. From the following any 
cotton grower should be able to determine the question for himself: 
It will pay to poison— 
If the weevils are really injuring your crop seriously; and 
If your land is sufficiently fertile to yield at least one- 
half bale per acre with weevil injury eliminated; and 
