
13 
FLARING OF SQUARES. 
Planters readily recognize when boll weevils, or some insect affect- 
ing the squares similarly, are at work. They may discover their 
presence by what is called “flaring.” This is an opening out and 
spreading down from the bloom or boll of the involucre, or shuck, 
exposing them. Yellowing of the affected squares follows the flaring. 
The squares affected soon ripen, as it were, and drop to the ground. 
This flaring and shedding is caused by the weevils eating holes into 
the squares and depositing their eggs. The simple eating off of the 
fruiting organs will produce the same result. This shedding should 
not be confused with the natural shedding of cotton, or with that 
caused by excessive rains following drought. Later in the season, when 
the weevils have become extremely numerous, there is one, or perhaps 
two, to every square produced by the plant. The preparation to flare 
and drop off begins at once after injury, and in most cases the blos- 
soms never open. For this reason the remark is often heard that the 
boll weevil must be in the cotton because it does not bloom. It 
requires from one to two weeks to complete the flaring and dropping 
off of the affected squares. This is an important fact for the reason, 
as already stated, that the development of the adult weevil takes 
place within the square and requires af least twenty-five to thirty days 
for such transformation, If, then, the shedding occurs within two 
weeks after egg deposition, there will remain two weeks of lying on 
the ground, during which the life of the weevil is at the mercy of the 
planter. Of course, this does not apply when the squares become so 
scarce that the weevils are forced to lay their eggs into the boll. 
These do not drop, and this fact emphasizes the argument for deter- 
mined action as early as possible in spring. 
GATHERING THE FALLEN SQUARES. 
It has been ascertained that the female deposits her eggs nowhere 
else than in the squares or young bolls. The infested squares flare 
and shed two weeks before the hatched larvee can mature and escape. 
The female is limited in her capacity to lay eggs. Hence gathering 
up the fallen squares resulting from her egg laying and burning 
them must surely destroy the entire generation. Nothing can be 
plainer than that if this gathering and burning were scrupulously and 
persistently followed from the very first in the spring, the first gen- 
eration of eggs would all be destroyed and the breeding for that sea- 
son would be practically stopped. 
The fact that the square lies about two weeks before the weevil can 
mature and escape makes it clear that this gathering should be prac- 
ticed at intervals of ten to twelve days. This is of extreme impor- 
tance for the reason that should squares lie long enough to allow 
