HISTORY OF RAVAGES, 1373. 35 



the following localities : Atascosa, Austin, and Galveston Counties, 

 Texas ; Tangipahoa, West Feliciana, Concordia, Kapides, and Carroll 

 Parishes, Louisiana ; Wilkinson, Marion, and Jasper Counties, Missis- 

 sippi; Clarke, Wilcox, Dallas, Tuscaloosa, Barbour, and Saint Clair 

 Counties, Alabama ; Liberty, Leon, Jackson, Gadsden, Suwannee, and 

 Columbia Counties, Florida ; and Decatnr County, Georgia. These local- 

 ities are of extreme interest and should be borne in mind as showing 

 probable localities of hibernation. 



In Texas the distribution of the worms was much more general than 

 it ever had been before, many counties reporting them for the first time. 

 The points of heaviest damage seemed to be irregularly distributed 

 throughout the cotton-growing part of the State. They seemed to fol- 

 low no law, nor were they massed together as one would expect. The 

 greater or lesser destructiveness seems to depend so entirely upon various 

 local causes that this result is brought about. The worms were more 

 universally present in the southwest cotton counties than before, but few 

 of them suffered severely, the exceptions being Medina, Brazoria, Fort 

 Bend, and Lavaca. The following counties were the worst afflicted of 

 any in the State: Burnet, Austin, Waller, Washington, Grimes, Hardin, 

 Xacogdoches, Shelby, Marion, Eusk, Henderson. The loss in these 

 counties amounted to from 25 per cent, to 75 per cent, of the crop. The 

 correspondent from Liberty says that total destruction was anticipated, 

 but that the caterpillars unaccountably stopped short of the whole crop. 

 A curious fact was noted by the correspondent from Smith County to 

 the effect that while the cotton on "red lands" was seriously damaged, 

 that on " gray lands " was scarcely touched. 



In Louisiana the damage was very great. The more southern parts 

 of the State were seriously injured by the earlier broods of the cater- 

 pillars, while the more northern Counties were, some of them, entirely 

 untouched until late in September. Even as late as this the crop was 

 in many instances almost entirely destroyed. In Iberia, Tangipahoa, 

 West Feliciana, Avoyelles, Kapides, Tensas, Franklin, Caddo, Boissier, 

 and Claiborue the worms did great damage, inflicting losses varying 

 from one-third to nearly the whole crop. Madison, however, and one or 

 two other more northern parishes, reported them as coming too late to 

 do much harm. The caterpillars were this year more abundant m Ar- 

 kansas than they ever had been before. Great damage was done in 

 Hempstead County; the top crop was taken in Little River, and con- 

 siderable damage was done in Columbia, Union, Ashley, Drew, Dorsey, 

 Clark, Polk, and Garland Counties. Mississippi was badly afflicted all 

 over the State. Appearing in Marion in May, they rapidly spread and 

 increased with each successive brood. Some of the upper counties they 

 did not reach until after the 1st of September. Loss amounting to 20 

 per cent, of the crop and over was inflicted on the following counties : 

 Wilkinson, Jefferson, Claiborue, Clark. Warren, Rankiu, Madison, Wash- 

 ington, Lowndes, Le Flore, Grenada, Lee, and several others. The cat- 



