COTTON 189 



insects, since it does a good deal of its feeding under 

 cover of corn shucks, or within the shell of the cot- 

 ton boll, while the cotton worm is usually exposed 

 to bird enemies during the whole of its larva life. 



GETTING RID OF THE INSECTS 



Many kinds of traps have been devised for catch- 

 ing the moths. As you know, moths of all kind 

 are attracted by lights when darkness comes on, 

 but the expense of operation, the comparatively 

 small number that are caught, and the large per- 

 centage of beneficial insects killed, seem to mark 

 the moth trap as worthless. 



Poison has also been tried, but with unfavorable 

 results. It is quite impossible to destroy the cotton 

 boll worm as we may destroy the cotton caterpillar, 

 as the latter feeds within bolls or is hidden within 

 the tassels or ears of corn. Nor have we been suc- 

 cessful in attempts at enticing moths to especially 

 prepared sweets flavored with poison and put with- 

 in their range, for only a very few accept the 

 invitation. 



The most successful effort is in growing trap 

 crops planted especially for nesting places 

 for the moths. As soon as eggs are deposited 

 these crops are destroyed, and the number of 

 broods of each generation is kept at a minimum. 

 A few rows of early but not thickly-planted sweet 

 corn are used to surround a certain area of cotton. 

 As the eggs are deposited on the silk the ears bear- 

 ing this can be plucked and fed to live stock. A 

 few rows of later corn may be coming on to catch 

 later broods, thus to a certain degree, keeping the 

 pest in check. 



