THE COTTON BOLLWORM. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The cotton bollworm became known as an fencniy of cotton early in 

 the history of the cultivation of this crop in the United States. As the 

 industry has grown, the losses from this insect have assumed greater 

 proportions, especially in the absence of the employment of any 

 remedial measures, and more particularly in the Southwestern States 

 of the cotton belt, where farming conditions and practices have been 

 least calculated to interfere with its successful development. 



From long familiarit}^, planters have become more or less accus- 

 tomed to its ravages, and the disposition has been to regard these as 

 necessarily incident to cotton culture. The fact that serious injury 

 has been of irregular occurrence has contributed to the disposition to 

 neglect the adoption of remedial measures long known to be of value. 

 Probably the most difficult feature of the whole question of lessening 

 the present serious ravages of the bollworm consists in securing the 

 adoption by cotton g-rowers of methods generally admitted to be of 

 value. This difficulty is not peculiar to cotton farmers suffering from 

 bollworm ravages, but tinds paiallel among the growers of agricul- 

 tural and horticultural crops generall3^ Often a pest of long standing 

 will be tolerated, and no effort made to prevent injurj^ from it, whereas 

 the ravages of a recently introduced species become the subject of much 

 complaint; of which facts the cotton boll weevil and the cotton bollworm 

 furnish an excellent illustration. Curiously enough, the crisis in cotton 

 culture in Texas, brought about by the former species, will, it appears, 

 be the means of securing the adoption, in that State at least, of methods 

 of farming best calculated to reduce injury from the cotton bollworm. 

 Certain facts in the life history of the latter species render effective 

 those cultural methods which are of value in avoiding weevil injur3^ 

 It now appears certain that both of these serious enemies of the cotton 

 plant will be best controlled ])y identically the same methods of 

 improved farm practice. 



« Heliutliis ohsoleia Fab., formerly known as IT. armiger Ilubner. 



