INTROLTJCTORY. 



It is not probable that there will ever be a more generall}' unfavor- 

 able year for cotton culture in the United States than that of 1903. 

 Toward the close of the preceding j^ear (1902) the Bureau of Statistics 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture reported a condition 

 of the cotton crop, resulting from insect ravages and unfavorable 

 climatic conditions in Texas, little short of disastrous. But the 

 season of 1903 has had as man}" unfavorable features, and in addition 

 the drawback that planting was unavoidably uniformly thrown from 

 four to six weeks late. This was especially unfortunate, as early 

 planting is the most important step in avoiding damage by the weevil. 

 Many planters were unable to put in one-half of their normal cotton 

 acreage. The late planting season was followed by very irregular 

 rains. As a rule severe droughts alternated with heav}^ rains. The 

 result would have been to cause a small crop regardless of damage by 

 the boll weevil, and this was especially noticeable in central Texas. 

 The experience of Mr. Harr}^ Fields, a prominent planter of Robertson 

 County, is typical of that of a great man}- planters in that part of the 

 State. In 1902 on a certain cut of 180 acres 65 bales of cotton were 

 produced. On the same land in 1903 only 15 bales were produced. 

 These unfavorable conditions necessarily handicapped the work of the 

 Division of Entomology, and in the experimental fields some points 

 that would doubtless be perfectl}^ evident under normal conditions were 

 but little apparent; for instance, in many fields wide spacing of the 

 rows was rendered fruitless, and some fields were so late that addi- 

 tional cultivation did not have the efi'ect that it should. Nevertheless, 

 the Division succeeded in proving by several striking illustrations that 

 cotton may still be produced in Texas, and in not one of the experi- 

 mental fields, aggregating 558 acres, did the crop fall much below the 

 average in the United States before the weevil came into Texas — that 

 is, about one-half bale to the acre — except in a few cases where there 

 was a poor stand or the crop was damaged b}^ floods. It should be 

 understood, however, that this yield of about half a bale to the acre 

 does not apply to the che(;k fields, which were necessary in order to 

 determine the results of the experiments. Even in the one case where 

 the Division produced a bale to the acre, the adjoining check fields 

 produced practically nothing. Some of the more noteworthy results of 

 the work of the season that are unmistakable despite the unfavorable 

 conditions have been selected for presentation on the following pages 

 with matter relating to the methods pursued, as well as an account of 

 some other matters — such as territor}^ affected, the amount of damage, 

 and the prospects — that are of particular interest at this time. 



