COLLECTING LARVAE BY HAND. 231 



small parasitic flies belonging to the genus Phora. It must be remem- 

 bered that the later broods of Aletia contain a larger percentage of para- 

 sitized individuals. 



Under this head will come also the suggestion of Mr. Nicholas A. 

 Davis, of Jacksonville, Tex., who recommends not plowing the cotton 

 fields while they are yet wet, and also advises planters not to plant cot- 

 ton on wet land where ants do not live. 



As another preventive measure, would it not be well to plant less cot- 

 ton and cultivate more thoroughly, using fertilizers? In this way more 

 cotton would be made early in the season, before the worms increase suffi- 

 ciently to injure it, and then, with smaller fields to go over, the force 

 upon a plantation would be sufficient to apply remedies in season to 

 keep the worms in check. 



DESTRUCTION OF EGGS. 



Many attempts have been made to destroy the cotton- worm in the 

 egg state. These have been accompanied with but little success. Ow- 

 ing to the fact that the tender terminal leaves are first destroyed by the 

 worms, planters have believed the eggs were laid upon this part of the 

 plant. This belief has suggested the idea that by cutting off and de- 

 stroying the terminal shoots the eggs would be removed. But as shown 

 in the chapter in natural history, the greater part of the eggs is laid on 

 the lower surface of the larger leaves of the middle third of the plant ; 

 hence by topping the cotton only those worms which happen to be on 

 that part of the plant would be destroyed. 



Owing to their small size, and the position in which the eggs are de- 

 posited, any attempt to destroy the insect in this state will prove imprac- 

 ticable. And the destruction of the few larvae which are removed with 

 the terminal shoots, does not pay for the labor of topping the cotton, 

 especially as the entire cotton can be poisoned with less labor. 



COLLECTING LARVAE BY HAND. 



Although it may seem 'a hopeless task to preserve a field of cotton by 

 collecting the larvae by hand, we feel that very much can be done in 

 this way if the effort'is made at the proper season. It would be a waste 

 of labor to attempt to destroy in this way the individuals of the third 

 crop of worms. Xot so, however, in case of the first brood. This ap- 

 pears in such small numbers that by careful searching a very large pro- 

 portion of them could be found. This, ot course, would materially lessen 

 the numbers of the subsequent broods. As early as the middle of May 

 the cotton fields should be thoroughly searched; at this time the cotton 

 plants are small, therefore, this could be done with comparatively little 

 labor. Much could be accomplished by instructing the hands to care- 

 fully collect all larvae and folded leaves containing pupae found while 

 working the cotton early in the season. We believe, however, that in- 



