40 REPORT UPON COTTOX INSECTS. 



earnestly protest against the use of this poison; but a discussion as to 

 its merits does not belong' here, and will be found in Chapter VII, 

 under the head of " Remedies." 



After 1873 the climax came 1874 which may be called an anti-cli- 

 max. 1874 was a remarkably dry year over nearly the whole of the cotton 

 belt, Texas alone suffering more perhaps from worms than from drought. 

 The result was, as it has been in so many cases, that the injuries of the 

 caterpillars underwent a most wonderful diminution from those of the 

 previous year, and very few localities report 1874 as a severe worm year. 

 The caterpillars made their appearance in June in Southern Texas, but 

 increased remarkably slowly with successive broods. Toward the latter 

 part of the season, however, they were present in destructive numbers in. 

 many counties. Paris green was used to a considerable extent this year 

 and with success in some localities. The correspondent from Lavaca 

 County reports " caterpillars would have been destructive but for the use 

 of Paris green." From Harris County the report was, "Paris green keeps 

 them in check." The greatest losses were reported from the widely-sep- 

 arated counties of Burnetand Hardin, Burnet reporting 40 per cent, loss 

 and Hardin 33 per cent. The top crop was destroyed in Austin and Ban- 

 dera. Considerable damage was done in Colorado, Waller, Fayette, Polk 

 and Cherokee. The worms were on hand, but little injury was done in San 

 Jacinto, Walker, Upshur and in most of the more northern counties. In 

 Mississippi the crop suffered severely from drought, and in most locali- 

 ties the case was, as the correspondent from Kemper County expressed 

 it, " the drought killed the cotton and the worms too." The leaves were 

 stripped, however, in Lowndes, Wilkinson and several other counties, 

 which served to make the plants still more susceptible to the drought. 

 In Hancock County, down on the Gulf coast, the crop suffered severely 

 from the caterpillars. The correspondent from that county said : " Here- 

 tofore it was thought that worms would not injure cotton on the sea- 

 shore, but this hope has proved fallacious." 



In Louisiana, the chenille made its appearance in early June, Kapides 

 being the first parish to report its presence. The damage done in the 

 State was not at all great, as from the slow increase occasioned by 

 drought and parasites, they did not attain injurious numbers until it was 

 too late to do much harm. 



In Alabama the crop \v;is a poor one, but this was due more to drought 

 than to insect ravages. Several counties, it is true, reported "ruined 

 by drought and caterpillars"; but the caterpillars were invariably 

 subordinated to the drought. The correspondent from Coffee County 

 reported " some worms, but the drought was too much for them." Bar- 

 bour and surrounding counties reported them as "not bad," and esti- 

 mated the loss at perhaps one sixth of the crop. In Florida the state 

 of affairs was mucli the same ; the damage from insects \vas compara- 

 tively insignificant. Nearly all localities reported that the hot weather 

 killed the caterpillars. 



