6 



FARM SPIES 



plant, and asked, "Who are those fellows with those 



long noses?" 



"Sonny," the tall plant answered, "that is the 



boll-weevil," and- they both looked very grave. 



"What scares me/' the older plant continued, "is 



the way the rascals work. They make no fuss about 



it, but every time 

 they start their 

 jaws to work on 

 a square it is al- 

 most certain death. 

 I do not mind hav- 

 ing a leaf or two 

 eaten by some cat- 

 erpillar ; that does 

 not injure me. I 



(FromB U r.ofEt..U.S.Dept.ofA g r.) fo n()t mind hay _ 

 FIG. 3. "Sonny, that is the boll-weevil." . 



ing a bug come and 



eat a square or a boll, because I can stand that, 

 as I have plenty of others left to make a crop ; 

 but these rogues bore holes into the squares or bolls, 

 and every time they puncture a square it is almost 

 sure to drop to the ground ; sometimes they re- 

 main hanging on the plants and dry up. It looks 

 like a dreadful thing to me," said the plant with a 

 long sigh. 



Yes, Cotton had bragged that there was nothing 

 strong enough on earth that could make him take 



