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]atf! in the season. The idea has been that by following with such a 

 practice; after the early destruction of the plants in the fall the hiber- 

 nating period of the weevils could be so l<;;iotheiied that all would 

 perish. From superficial considerations it would seem that late plant- 

 ing instead of early planting would be the proper wa}' to avoid damage 

 by the pest. In order to determine this point definite!}', the Bureau 

 of P^ntomology conducted a special experiment at Victoria, Tex,, 

 during the season of 1904. A field was selected which was isolated 

 from all other cotton fields by a dense growth of huisache, the nearest 

 cotton being nearly a mile awa\\ The field und<?r consideration was 

 20 aeres in extent and had ]>een planted in cotton during the season of 

 1903, when the weevils became very numerous. The stalks were 

 removed in the latter part of November. During the spring sprouts 

 sprang from a number of the roots i-emaining in the ground, but these 

 were destroyed with hoes from tinx' to time. Aftei' this piciiiminary 

 treatment the field was planted in King cotton on May 23. The cli- 

 matic conditions in genei'al were favorable, resulting in a rapid growth. 

 On Jul}' 15 an examination showed that the weevils were generally 

 distributed throughout the field, although the damage at this time was 

 not great. On August 3, however, it was found that 90 per cent of 

 all the squares in Aarious parts of the field W(;re infested. By August 

 31 no blooms whatever were to be seen. A small number of bolls 

 were in evidence, but very few of them were open. This field yielded 

 altogether only 3,240 pounds of s(;ed cotton, less than one-tenth of a 

 bale of lint per acre. 



As ii check upon the foregoing experiment another is(jluted field 

 was selected which had l>een in cotton c<mtinuousl\- for seven years. 

 Jn this case 5 acres were planted with seed of the Parker variety of 

 cotton duiing the last week in P\'bruarv. It was found that weevils 

 made their appearance in this field in great numbeis at appi'oximately 

 the same time as they appeared in the field planted very late. The 

 total yi(dd on the 5 acres planted in Fel)ruary was G,*»90 pounds of 

 seed cotton, or 1,39.S pounds per acre. 



As against a yield of about one-tenth of a bale per acre in the late- 

 planted fi(!l(l we have, in the early-planted one, a 3'ieldof nearly a full 

 ♦^onuufM'cial bale per acre. 



The eviflent conclusion fi-om this experiment is that even under the 

 most favorable circumstances late planting can not be relied upon to 

 save the crop. Aside from the general difficulties in late planting and 

 the likelihood that the crcjp will be damaged b}^ the other insect pests, 

 it seems that a number of weevils sufficient to thoroughly infest the 

 field in a slun-t tiirie succeed in passing the; })rolonged peiiod of hil)er- 

 nation. The late-planted cotton grew well, and the only important 

 factoi- in reducing the yield was the boll weevil. 



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