THE COTTON ROOT-LOUSE 131 



had been examined and that the experts found them 

 attacked by foot-aphids and that one of the experts 

 would be at the farm of Joe Gardner and would 

 advise any one interested what to do. 



The man who came there was an entomologist; 

 that is, he was a man who made a study of insects. 

 Early on that Wednesday morning many farmers, 

 old and young, came to hear what the entomologist 

 had to say. When they first saw him, many of the 

 older men were very much disappointed because he 

 appeared so young. The young entomologist care- 

 fully examined the plants. When he could find 

 nothing on the leaves and stalks he took a trowel 

 and drove it into the ground and lifted the plant 

 out, roots and all, together with the soil about the 

 roots. After he had scratched the earth away from 

 the roots with great care, they saw many little 

 bluish, soft-bodied, sucking insects. "What are 

 they?" several of them exclaimed with surprise. 

 "We never saw such bugs on the roots of cotton," 

 others said. 



"That is, no doubt, correct," the entomologist 

 answered. 



Another farmer exclaimed, "My cotton is dying 

 the same way, and I have examined the roots of 

 many of the plants, but I don't find any of these 

 bugs, so I know that this is not the trouble with my 

 cotton." 



