32 



Cotton Worms in Texas during 1887, compiled from the first annual 

 report of the commissioner of agriculture of Texas, by Mr. B. W. Snow, 

 assistant statistician to this department. This summary had been 

 promised us by Mr. Dodge, but as he was called awaj' Mr. Snow has 

 kindly prepared it for our use. 



Professor Cook's Bulletin on the Grain Louse. — Prof. A. J. Cook has 

 just published, as Bulletin No. 50 of the Michigan Experiment Station, 

 a short account of the Grain Plant-louse, giving a brief summary of the 

 known facts concerning this insect. The bulletin is preliminary in its 

 character and no remedies are suggested. 



East Indian Rhynchota. — We have just received from Mr. E. T. Atkin- 

 son a continuation of his valuable papers upon this subject. The present 

 installment comprises some nine y pages and includes descriptions of 

 species numbered 295 to 443. 



AGGREGATE DAMAGE FROM COTTON WORMS IN TEXAS, CROP OF 



1887. 



By B. W. Snow, Assistant Statistician. 



The commissioner of agriculture of Texas, in his first annual report, 

 presents a statement of the aggregate cotton crop of that State for 

 1887 by counties. In many parts of the State the season was an un- 

 favorable one for this crop, drought and worms very much reducing the 

 yield per acre. An estimate of the damage done by worms is presented 

 for each county, ranging from nothing in many counties to a loss of 50 

 per cent, of the crop in others of large production, and an even heavier 

 loss in some counties where the crop is of little importance and insecti- 

 cides are not made use of. For the whole State the amount of damage 

 done averaged about 21 per cent, of the crop. 



According to this return the total number of bales gathered was 

 1,125,499, while had there been total exemption from insect damage the 

 farmers of Texas, according to this authority', would have gathered a 

 crop of 1,422,948 bales. This would make the aggregate loss from 

 worms equal to 297,449 bales. The value per bale of the crop which 

 was made at the place of production averaged slightly over $40. Pre- 

 suming that an increase of less than half a million bales in the aggre- 

 gate crop would have made but little difterence in price, the actual 

 money loss to the farmers of Texas in one year from the Cotton Worm 

 alone was $11,897,960. 



It is not claimed that these figures are absolutely accurate, but they 

 are undoubtedly approximately correct, and will give some idea of the 

 enormous tribute levied upon American agriculture by injurious in- 

 sects. In that year Texas produced but 21 per cent, of the cotton crop 



