THE BOLL-WEEVIL PROBLEM, WITH SPECIAL 

 REFERENCE TO MEANS OF REDUCING DAMAGE. 



Page. 



Damage 4 



Prospects 7 



Work upon which this bulletin is based 9 



Description and life history of the boll weevil. 9 



Hibernation 13 



ITow nature assists in destroying the boll 



weevil 14 



Dissemination 10 



Methods of control 17 



Destroying; infested plants in the fall 17 



Methods of destroying weevils inthcfa'l. 20 

 Destruction of weevils in hibernating 



places 21 



Locating fields to avoid weevil dam- 

 age 23 



Page. 

 Methods of control — Continued. 



Crop rotation 23 



Procuring an early crop 23 



Special devices for destroying weevils 27 



Topping of plants 39 



Cotton leaf worm and boll weevil 39 



Destroying the weevil in cotton seed 31 



Relation of methods of control of the 

 boll weevil to the control of other in- 

 sects 33 



General control through quarantines 34 



Attempts to poison the boll weevil 34 



False remedies 30 



Summary of control measures 39 



Special treatment of small areas 40 



THIS bulletin, dealing with work done under the direction of Dr. 

 L. O. Howard, Chief of the Bureau of Entomology, is intended to 

 cover in a general way the whole field of control of the boll weevil, 

 and as this control is inseparably connected with the life history and 

 habits of the insect and, in fact, must be based thereon, attention 

 is given to the principal features of the insect's economy. In addi- 

 tion, information is given relating to the amount of damage done, 

 the extent of infested territory, and such other matters as are of 

 special interest at tliis time. 



Like many of the most important injurious insects in this country, 

 the cotton boll weevil is not a native of the LTnited States. Its origi- 

 nal home was undoubtedly in the plateau region of Mexico or Central 

 America, and originally it may have fed upon some plant other 

 than cotton. Tliis is not necessarily the case, however, since there 

 is evidence that the same region is the original home of the cotton 

 plant itself. Previous to 1892 the insect had spread through much of 

 Mexico, but Uttle is known regarding the extent or rapidity of this 

 dispersion. The records indicate, however, that it probably had 

 caused the abandonment of cotton in certain regions. About 1S92 

 the boll weevil crossed the Rio Grande near Brownsville, Tex. It 

 may have flown across, or it is possible that it was carried over in 

 seed cotton to be ginned at Brownsville. By 1894 it had spread to 

 half a dozen counties in southern Texas and was brought to the atten- 



NoTE.— This bulletin is a revision of Farmers' Bulletin 512. 



