488 REPORT UPON COTTON INSECTS. 



destroying the stand so much as to require replanting. They were very destructive 

 the present season and are increasing yearly. They never do any damage on land that 

 was lying out or in small grain the previous year. They are specially destructive on 

 land that has been planted a series of years in cotton. Possibly they may prove a 

 blessing to us, for if they continue to increase they will force us into a rotation of 

 crops. All birds and poultry seek and devour them greedily. I think the remedy is 

 in the protection of the birds, and ceasing to plant the same land in cotton two years 

 in succession. The rapid increase is perhaps to be attributed to the unusually mild 

 winters for the last two years. [John Robinson, Wayne. 



The cut-worm will occasionally cut young cotton when the weather is cool and wet, 

 but does very little damage. [F. I. Smith, Halifax. 



TEXXESSEE. 



Though to a very limited extent, some years the boll- worm has been found. We do 

 not, like even to guess whether the boll- worm can reproduce itself in this latitude (local- 

 ity) or not. But however much our theory may be rejected as to its production, we 

 venture a few words. The moth deposits its egg in the young fruit (or form) when in 

 bloom. The boll grows to maturity, the egg is hatched, producing a worm which feeds 

 upon the inside of the boll until the appointed time, then cuts its way out, which pro- 

 cess completely destroys the boll. Sometimes decay takes place before the worm cuts 

 its way out. It is a mistaken idea that the worm cuts into the boll, " Worms cut their 

 way out." There is a moth that stings other young fruib here (we believe same as cot- 

 ton-moth), such as pease, beans, &c., when in bloom, and perhaps when the fruit is 

 gathered and dried for winter the worm finds its way out. We only guess why we are 

 not troubled with the cotton-worm. Our cotton is not in bloom at the particular time 

 the miller lays its eggs. We are aware the above suggestion will be subject to strong 

 criticism, nevertheless they are our convictions from experience and observation. [E. 

 W. Cunningham, Henderson. 



There is a kind of lice that injures the cotton here to some small extent. [L. Dod- 

 son, McMinu. 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



The cotton-worm or cotton-caterpillar is the only insect which has been known to 

 damage the plant to any considerable extent in this county (Barnwell). On some 

 farms the " stands" have been injured by the cut- worm, which is the same as that 

 which cuts down cabbage and other vegetables, and is not peculiar to cotton. This 

 trouble is occasional of late cool springs. Lice or Aphis are often seen on the young 

 plant, but seldom injure it. There is no boll-worm yet in any part of the county. 

 [James C. Brown, Barnwell. 



TEXAS. 



The boll-worm (Hcltothis) has done more damage this year than the Noctna xylina. 

 They appeared early in June, and the third crop is still at work. The crop of' this 

 county is cut off at least one-third. A Held of sixty acres planted by my brother-in- 

 law that with no casualty would have made, forty-five bales, will barely make fifteen, 

 while some fields are entirely untouched. The egg is laid on the involucel during the 

 night, hatches in from six to ten days, and commences feeding on the parenchyma of 

 the calyx, and as soou as they have got strength they eat through into the inclosed 

 flower-bud, or into the boll, if laid after the bloom. They destroy one or more of the 

 divisions in the boll, and all that are punctured before blooming or while quite young 

 fall off. In the field mentioned above we found many stalks six to seven feet high 

 without a single boll. Instead of webbing up on the cotton-plant, this worm descends 

 into the ground, where it makes a cocoon and is enabled to withstand the severity of 

 our winters, and thus makes its appearance as soon as the weather becomes warm in 

 the spring. I have often plowed out the chrysalides, and examined to see if they wore 

 alive, finding them so. The fly, or moth, is hardly half as largo as that of the Former 

 insect. There are some other insects injurious to the cotton-plant, and I do not know 

 that any effort has been made for their extermination, or if any means could bo adopted 

 successfully. [Walter Barnes, Cherokee. 



The boll-worm fly deposits its egg on the young squares just before they bloom, 

 about the last of July or first of August. The lly deposits its eggs at twilight and 

 moonlight nights. I cannot say what kind of a moth it is, but my neighbor, an in- 

 telligent planter, says it is a yellow fly, smaller than the army-worm fly. I have never 

 seen the boll-worm eat anything but the young bolls and squares before blossoming. 

 They pierce the blossom and eat or suck the juice, which causes them to drop off. 

 Some seasons they are more numerous than others. I have never heard of any means 

 being taken by any farmer to destroy or prevent their depredations, but they take 

 their presence as a matter of course. [C. B. Richardson, Rusk. 



We have the old-time enemy, the boll-worm that punctures the squares and bolls. 

 I am certain the larva of this insect falls to the ground and hides itself there to per- 

 fect its being. There is another insect that we call the " boll- weevil" or " ball-cur- 



