THE WEATHER AND THE WEEVIL 89 



1911. By 1916, Department entomologists knew of its 

 appearance in Mexico. It appeared in Texas between 

 1917-1921 and was apparently stamped out by severe 

 measures. Particularly dangerous is the fact that the 

 larvae enter the cotton seed and remain there for several 

 months. In February, 1928, a new and extensive outbreak 

 was reported in Ector, Midland, and Martin counties, 

 western Texas. 18 



THE BOLL WEEVIL 



Today the world's largest consumer of raw cotton is 

 the boll weevil. None of the risks attendant upon cotton 

 have equaled this little insect in the drama of its appear- 

 ance and the tragedy of its effect. In 1896 Dr. L. O. 

 Howard, Entomologist of the Department of Agriculture 

 wrote : 



. . . the cotton plant cannot be said to suffer seriously 

 from the attacks of insects. . . . An exception to this general 

 statement may in the future be found in Anthonomus grandls, 

 a Mexican weevil which damages cotton bolls. This insect 

 down to the close of the season of 1894 was known to us 

 only through a few specimens collected upon cotton bolls in 

 Mexico some years earlier by Dr. Edward Palmer. During 

 1894, however, we learned that the species had made its ap- 

 pearance in the state of Texas. 19 



It had crossed the Rio Grande near Brownsville about 

 1892. The Mexicans called the insect the "picudo," re- 

 ferring to its long snout. The Texas planters called them 

 "sharpshooters" because of their ability in puncturing 

 the bolls. Dr. Howard wrote as early as two years after 



18 New York Times, Feb. 15, 1928. 



19 The Cotton Plant, pp. 319-20. 



