THE RED SPIDER ON COTTON. 13 



Several insects have been discovered which destroy many mites, 

 and are thus of great benefit to the planter. 



At the end of the cotton-growing season most of the red spiders 

 migrate afoot in search of greener plants, the majority of those 

 which survive settling ultimately upon the cultivated violet. 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



(1) Clean culture. — Burn or grub out all weeds and underbrush 

 about cotton fields and practice fall plowing so far as possible. 



{2) Control on iriolets. — Spray or destroy suspected violet plants 

 in order to remove the sources of red spider infestation. 



{3) Broadcasted trap horders. — Thickly sow cotton along mar- 

 gins of fields at points where infestation has appeared on former 

 occasions, and plow these in about June 1, so as to intercept and 

 destroy the invading mites. 



(4) Pulling first infested stalks. — Maintain a careful watch of 

 fields so that the first attacked plants may be detected, removed, and 

 burned, thus preventing further spread. 



(5) Spraying. — Apply one of the insecticides recommended above 

 to the infested portion of a field before occurrence becomes too gen- 

 eral to prohibit its use. Two applications should be made; the first 

 to destroy the living mites, and the second, a week later, to kill the 

 recently hatched individuals which were eggs at the time of the first 

 spraying. 



Finally, the opinion will be ventured that the red spider is not a 

 difficult pest to combat. Unlike many other pests, it has no wings 

 and spreads mainly by means of its tiny legs. Migration does not 

 extend far from its winter quarters. This makes every man's prob- 

 lem virtually his own. In other words, if his infestation has always 

 come from a certain spot upon his premises, proper attention to this 

 spot will yield him results in spite of the negligence of his neighbors. 



Approved : 



James Wilson, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



Washington, D. C, February 11^., 1912. 



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