24 



that the insects have died out, while the experience of the following 

 season has invariably destroyed their hopes. In general, wet winters 

 and dry-growing seasons are unfavorable for the weevil. When a 

 series of years involving such conditions is followed by a season of 

 less than normal rainfall, the weevil will be temporaril}^ a compara- 

 tively unimportant factor, although its presence will undoubtedly 

 always prevent the maturity of a fall crop. The most disastrous 

 seasons will be those like the past season (1903), in which the rainfall 

 is excessive and the planting time unavoidably late. 



WILL THE WEEVIL REACH OTHER COTTON-PRODUCING 



COUNTRIES ? 



The fact that several European governments are sending agents to 

 this country to procure seed to be used in experiments in producing 

 the staple in their, colonies lends some interest to speculation as to 

 the probability that the weevil may soon be carried to remote por- 

 tions of the globe. Although the insect does not, except accidentally, 

 hibernate within the hull of the seed, every seed house attached to a 

 gin in the infested territor}^ harbors many that are picked accidentall}" 

 and brought in from the fields in the seed cotton. Jn case the seed 

 happens to be sacked or even shipped in bulk there is nothing what- 

 ever to prevent the weevils from being carried long distances on ship- 

 board. When thus transported the indications are that they would be 

 able to adapt themselves successfully to climatic conditions anywhere 

 that cotton may be grown, unless possibly in a region of great eleva- 

 tion, like that of the Laguna district in Mexico. Although the writer 

 is informed that the agents engaged in obtaining American seed are 

 carefully avoiding the infested portions of Texas, in view of the fore- 

 going and of the fact that the pest is spreading rapidly, the proba- 

 bility that it may eventually be carried to West Africa or elsewhere 

 is not at all remote. This could be easilj^ avoided by fumigation of 

 the seed or by leaving it sacked in storage rooms isolated from new 

 cotton for a year previous to shipment. 



DESCRIPTION OF WEEVIL. 



Every intelligent planter in the weevil-infested area is able to deter- 

 mine the presence of the pest by its appearance and the evidence of 

 its work, but planters who have never seen it are often in doubt as to 

 whether some insect damaging the crop is the boll weevil or not, as 

 well as to whether flaring and falling of the fruit is caused by some 

 unseen insect pest or by climatic conditions. For the benefit of Texas 

 planters outside of the weevil territory at present, as well as planters 

 in other States where the pests are more or less likely to bo found at 

 any time, the following description of the insect and its work are 



