+ 
‘ages at the three localities in which October destruction took place, 
compared with seven similar cages in which the plants were removed 
in November. 
TIME FOR DESTRUCTION OF THE PLANTS. 
It is naturally impossible to fix any date for the destruction of 
the stalks which would apply to all localities and under all condi- 
tions. The condition of the soil must be considered as well as the 
maturity of the ctop. While the condition of the soil can not be 
controlled, the time of the maturity of the crop, except in extremely 
unfavorable seasons, 1s largely within the power of the planter, since 
by early planting of early 1 maturing varieties the entire crop may be 
mature before the usual time of picking of the first cotton from native 
seed. Nevertheless, whatever modifications are necessary in different 
localities and during different seasons, they do not decrease the gen- 
eral strength of the recommendations. 
The proper time for the destruction of the plants in the fall is 
whenever the weevils have become so numerous that there is no 
prospect that any more cotton will be made. It will be an easy 
matter for any planter to determine this point by an examination of 
a few plants in his field. Whenever it is found that all, or nearly 
all, of the squares and some of the bolls are being punctured, there is 
no hope for producing any more cotton. The farmer should then 
wait until the bolls already set on the plants have opened, and 
destruction should then take place immediately. 
The rule should consequently be that the plants should be destroyed 
in the fall whenever all or practically all of the fruit is being dam- 
aged, regardless of whether this is in September or November. In 
the ereat majority of cases in Texas and in Louisiana the month of 
October would be the proper time. In many eases earlier destruc- 
tion could and should be practiced. Nevertheless, it should not be 
thought that fall destruction will be useless after the time mentioned. 
Even until much later many weevils in the remains of bolls hanging 
to the plants may be destroyed, but the process loses in value the 
longer it is deferred. By all means, if possible, destruction of plants 
should take place before frost, but destruction after frost, though not 
nearly as efficacious as earlier destruction, should always be practiced 
when it has not been possible to remove the plants previously. 
METHOD OF REMOVING THE PLANTS. 
The common practice of removing the cotton stalks from the fields 
by the use of the stalk cutter (a “wheeled cylinder provided with 
knives) is not effective in the fall destruction that should be practiced 
to avoid the damage by the boll weevil. The stalks remaining in that 
case during mild weather give rise to sprouts which furnish an 
abundance of food to weevils that would otherwise starve. More- 
over, the fact that this machine cuts the stalks into short pieces makes 
the necessary collection of them difficult. 
There are two effective methods of removing the plants from the 
ground. One of these, the method to be preferred, is to cut the roots 
[Cir. 95] 
