HISTORY OF RAVAGES, 1826-1835. 21 



Dr. Capers* says concerning the succeeding year : 



In 1826 they destroyed the crops. The first notice of them this year was at Saint 

 Helena, La., on the 1st of August. Soon after they were found on all the coast, from 

 New Orleans to North Carolina. On August 23 they had destroyed almost all the cot- 

 ton leaves, but suddenly they left the plants, though not for the purpose of webbing 

 up, as many were young.! 



The cause of their sudden disappearance is said to have been that they were too 

 much exposed to the powerful effects of the sun, in consequence of the plants being 

 nearly destitute of foliage, and not protecting them from its direct rays. 



It is quite possible that Dr. Capers has made a mistake of a year, and 

 that this note really should refer to the year 1825, as a diligent search- 

 ing of records shows no other account of the prevalence of the cater- 

 pillar in 1826. This is the most natural conclusion to arrive at, though 

 it may simply be a case of exaggeration. 



We have notes of the appearance of the worm, without, however, much 

 damage resulting, in limited localities in 1828, 1829, 1833, 1834, and 1836. 

 Considerable damage was done in Leon County, Florida, and the sur- 

 rounding counties in 1830 ; in Southern Alabama in 1831, and again in 

 Northern Florida in 1832. In 1834 the worms appeared in Texas for 

 the first time. Mr. G. S. Clark, of Heuipstead, Waller County, writes : 

 "In 1834 a boat load of cotton seed was brought from New Orleans, and 

 that year the worms made their first appearance and destroyed the crop." 

 In 1836 they are stated to have been very destructive in Greene County, 

 Alabama. According to Mr. Grote, Hon. Kobert Toombs sold his plan- 

 tation in Southwest Georgia on account of the ravages committed by 

 the cotton- worm in Early and Clay Counties in 1835. 



In 1838, the injuries were more general. Dr. Phares says: "They 

 spread over a large portion of the cotton States that year, doing much 

 damage in September and October. " Colonel Whituer, speaking for 

 Leon County, Florida, says : " The caterpillar appeared early in August. 

 The second brood stripped the plants by the 20th of September, and 

 were so numerous that, after devouring the entire foliage, they barked 

 the limbs and stalks and ate out bolls nearly grown. " The year 1830 

 was noted neither for extended ravages nor for marked devastations in 

 particular localities. 



In 1840, the appearance of the caterpillar was very general, extending 

 north into Arkansas and South Carolina. In most cases they were too 

 late to do severe damage, and the only locality which suffered much, 

 appears to have been Northern Florida. Concerning the caterpillars 

 this year in Leon County, Florida, Dr. Capers says : " They came out 

 from the 15th to the 20th of July, and by the 6th of September the 

 plants were stripped of leaves and young bolls, so that the entire crop 

 was less than one-half the average of other years. " It is a noticeable 

 fact, upon viewing the past ravages of the caterpillar, that this north- 

 western tier of Florida counties has never been exempt since 1830 and 

 *Dep. of Agr. Ann. Rept. 1855, pp. 74,75. 



