242 INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETATION 



become discolored, usually on one side only, and by the time the 

 larvae become full grown generally crack open at the tip. While in 

 a square one usually finds but a single larva, in a full-grown boll as 

 many as twelve have been found. In any case, however, the hatch- 

 ing of a single larva in a boll results in the destruction of the boll 

 to such an extent that its fiber is useless. Where no serious frost 

 occurs in December, the insects all, or nearly all, reach maturity 

 and enter hibernating quarters. Whenever a heavy frost comes in 

 this month, or before, the observations show that those insects which 

 have not reached the beetle stage are nearly all killed. 



There can be no question now that in the proper system of 

 farming cotton a practically complete remedy for the weevil exists. 

 In the first place, it has been established beyond question that the 

 conditions of cultivation which make volunteer growth possible also 

 makes the continuance of the weevil inevitable. Of first importance 

 is the early removal of the old cotton in the fall, preferably in 

 November or earlier. This can be done by throwing out the old 

 plants with a plow, root and all, and afterwards raking them to- 

 gether and burning them. This treatment should be followed, as 

 promptly as may be, by deep plowing, say to a depth of 6 or 8 

 inches. This leaves the field comparatively clean of old cotton 

 stalks, facilitates thorough cultivation the following year, and, at 

 the same time, collects and destroys all of the weevil larvae and 

 pupse in the cotton at the time, and also most of the adults. The 

 escaping beetles will be buried by deep plowing, and will not again 

 reach the surface. Few, if any, of them will succeed in hibernat- 

 ing in the absence of cotton stalks and other ordinary rubbish in 

 which they winter. Fields treated in this way have given a prac- 

 tical demonstration of the usefulness of the method. 



The greatest danger from the weevil is due to the presence of 

 volunteer cotton, which means early food for the weevils in the 

 spring and abundant means for their overwintering, and the effort 

 made to retain volunteer and get early cotton, or the "first bale," is 

 a very serious menace to cotton culture within the weevil district. 



This cultural method, if generally practiced, will undoubtedly 

 prove a perfect remedy for upland cotton, and will vastly reduce 

 weevil damage in the lowlands, w r here the weevil is more apt to 

 winter, perhaps in adjoining woods or roadside vegetation. The 

 early removal of cotton by the means suggested is especially advised 

 whenever the presence of the weevil shows that the picking of a top 

 crop is problematical. If this cultural method can be enforced, 

 either by State legislation or by the co-operation and insistence on 

 the part of landowners that their renters shall carry out the system 

 outlined, the weevil difficulty can undoubtedly in very large meas- 

 ure be overcome. 



In connection with the system of fall treatment of the cotton, 

 constant and thorough cultivation of the growing crop is of con- 

 siderable value, and is also what should be done to insure a good 

 yield. With a crossbar to brush the plants many of the blossoms 

 and squares containing weevils will be jarred to the ground and 



