232 Effective Farming 



In the spring fallen squares which contain larvse are picked 

 up and burned. In the fall the stalks of the cotton are burned 

 or plowed under to kill as many weevils as possible before they 

 hibernate. 



Boll-worm. The same insect as the corn ear- worm pre- 

 viously described when found on cotton is known as the boll- 

 worm. The females lay eggs on all parts of the cotton plant, 

 but more especially on the leaves. The larvae that hatch 

 eat at first into the tender buds and the surface tissue of the 

 leaves. At this stage they can be poisoned, but this practice 

 has not been found very practicable. Preventive measures 

 are better. As the worms become older, they cut into the boll 

 and destroy its contents. When they become full size, they 

 drop to the ground and usually burrow to a depth of two or 

 three inches, where they remain during the pupal stage. From 

 the pupa the moth emerges. 



The preventive measure usually followed is to plant trap 

 crops of corn, one about the first of June and the other two 

 weeks later. This will bring the corn into the roasting ear 

 stage during the first weeks of August. The moths prefer 

 corn in the roasting ear stage to cotton ; consequently they 

 will deposit their eggs on the corn rather than on the cotton 

 and thus the latter will not suffer much from the ravages of 

 the larvae. The trap crops of corn are often planted in oat 

 fields near the cotton or two or three rows of corn are planted 

 in the cotton fields, alternating with thirty or forty rows of 

 cotton. 



Another preventive measure is late fall or early winter 

 plowing. This destroys the burrows of the insects and upturns 

 many of the pupa to the cold weather of winter. 



Cotton-wilt. This is a very troublesome disease, especially 

 on some soils. It occurs any time after the plants are about 

 six inches high. The plants suddenly wilt and usually die 

 in a few days. To plant no cotton on the ground for three 

 years and to use wilt-resistant varieties will sometimes prove 



