308 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



Under this head will come also the suggestion of Mr. Nicholas A. 

 Davis, of Jacksonville, Tes., who recommends planters to avoid plowing 

 cotton-fields when they are wet for fear of destroying ants, and also ad- 

 vises planters not to i)lant cotton on wet laud where ants do not live. 



As another preventive measure, would it not be well to plant less cot 

 ton and cultivate more thoroughly, using fertilizers ? In this way more 

 cotton would be made early in the season, before the worms increase 

 sufficiently to hijure it, and then, with smaller fields to go over, the force 

 upon a plantation would be sufficient to apply remedies in season to 

 keep the worms in check. 



With a Aiew to rendering the cotton distasteful to the caterpillar, if 

 possible, quassia chips were steeped and soaked in water for about a 

 week and a half, one pound of chips being used for each gallon of water. 

 This decoction was then diluted, from a pint to a quart of it beiug added 

 to each bucketful of water (2 gallons), and applied with a fountain 

 pump to infested cotton, so that every leaf was thoroughly wet. In this 

 form the infusion was intensely bitter and imparted a strong taste to 

 the cotton leaves after the water had evaporated ; but though several 

 applications were made it did not interfere with the feeding of the 

 worms. 



Destruction of eggs. — Many attempts have been made to destroy 

 the cotton- worm in the egg state. These have been accompanied with 

 but little success. Owing to the fact that the tender terminal leaves 

 are first destroyed by the worms, planters have believed the eggs were 

 laid upon this part of the plant. This beUef has suggested the idea that 

 by cutting oif and destroying the terminal shoots the eggs would be 

 removed. But as shown in the chapter on natural history, the greater 

 part of the eggs is laid on the lower surface of the larger leaves of the 

 middle third of the plant ; hence by topping the cotton only those worms 

 which happen to be on that part of the plant would be destroyed. 



Owing to their small size, and the position in which the eggs are de- 

 posited, any attempt to destroy the insect in this state will prove imprac- 

 ticable. And the destruction of the few larvae which are removed with 

 the terminal shoots does not pay for the labor of topping the cotton, 

 especially as the entire cotton can be poisoned with less labor. 



Collecting larvae by hand. — Although it may seem a hopeless 

 task to preserve a field of cotton by collecting the larvae by hand, we 

 feel that very much can be done in this way if the eifort is made at the 

 proper season. It would be a waste of labor to attempt to destroy in 

 this way the individuals of the third crop of worms. Kot so, however, 

 in case of the first brood. This appears in such small numbers that by 

 carefiil searching a very large proportion of them could be found. 

 This, of course, would materially lessen the numbers of the subsequent 

 broods. As early as the middle of May the cotton fields should be 

 thoroughly searched ; at this time the cotton j^lants are small, therefore, 

 this couUr be done with comparatively little labor. Much could be ac- 

 complished by instructing the hands to carefully collect all larvae and 

 folded leaves containing pupae found while working the cotton early in 

 the season. We believe, however, that instructions of this kind could 

 only be made to produce the maximum results by offering a reward for 

 every specimen captured before a certain date, say June 1 ; a smaller 

 reward might then be offered for each specimen between that time and 

 some subsequent date. We have no doubt that were each planter to 

 expend a small sum in this way greater returns would be realized than 

 could be obtained by the expenditure upon tlie crop of a like sum any 

 other way. And we are inclined to believe that even in case where 



