FIBER PLANTS 181 



it has not been found in Jamaica, Porto Rico, or the 

 smaller West Indies. The female beetle deposits 

 her eggs in the soft young bolls or in the flower 

 buds ; the young grub developing within the tissues 

 of the plant is protected from the application of 

 insecticides, and no practicable remedy has been 

 found for destroying this terrible pest. The insect 

 passes the winter in its adult stage and within the 

 boundaries of the United States comparatively few 

 of them are able to persist until the season for the 

 flowering of cotton. The first brood, therefore, does 

 little damage ; they multiply rapidly, however, so 

 that in all infested regions the later, so-called top 

 crop is almost completely destroyed. By taking ad- 

 vantage of these facts, cultural methods have been 

 devised by means of which it is still possible to pro- 

 duce a fair crop, notwithstanding the presence of the 

 weevil. The earliest maturing varieties are selected, 

 seed is planted as early as possible, and fertilizers 

 are applied and cultivation given with the view of 

 hastening the ripening of the crop in every possible 

 way. After the first pickings have been secured, or 

 as soon as the majority of the young bolls are seen 

 to be infested, the entire crop is promptly plowed 

 under, without attempting to harvest the later 

 pickings. Great pains should be taken to destroy 

 absolutely every cotton plant in order to prevent the 

 maturing of the late brood of beetles. Profitable 

 crops are now being secured in even the worst 

 infested regions, although the yields obtained are 

 necessarily smaller than when it was possible to con- 

 tinue picking throughout the season. Success with 



