RED SPIDER ON COTTON AND HOW TO CONTROL IT. 



15 



Fig. 12.— Barrel pump with double lead of hose mounted on dismantled hayrake. Same outfit as 

 shown in figure 11. (McGregor and McDonough.) 



"bugs," cotton caterpillars, etc., even the careless application of Paris 

 green to the top of the foliage often proves entirely satisfactory. 

 This is explained by the fact that pests of that kmd are constantly 

 moving from leaf to leaf and are sure to get some of the poisoned 

 fohage. Also, since these insects usually eat completely through the 

 leaf, it matters little upon which side the poison falls. With the red 

 spider, however, it is very different. A contact insecticide is abso- 

 lutely necessar}^, and since the mite spends its life on the underside of 

 a single leaf it is most important m spraying to Mt the entire under- 

 side of every leaf of an infested idant. Careless spraying is certain to 

 yield misatisfactory results. 



SUMMARY OF REMEDIES. 



To prevent injury to cotton by red spiders the following steps 

 should be taken: (1) Destruction of all weeds around the farm dur- 

 ing the winter and early sprmg; (2) spraying of cultivated plants 

 around the dwellings with a contact insecticide; (3) mamtainmg a 

 finely pulverized surface soil; (4) destruction of early infested plants 

 on large areas of heavy infestation by plowing up and burnmg; and 

 finally, if the infestation is more or less general, (5) spraymg the 

 cotton plants with one of the following contact insecticides: Potas- 

 sium sulphid, lime-sulphur, kerosene emulsion, or a flour-paste 

 solution. 



