Department of Agriculture 19 



The mop is made by wrapping a piece of burlap about the 

 size of a small handkerchief around the end of a small stick 

 approximately 36 inches long-, tying securely with twine, and 

 slitting the protruding end several times with a knife blade. 

 About four inches of the roll should protrude beyond the end 

 of the stick. 



The success or failure of the poisoning method will depend 

 largely on the manner in which the mopping operation is car- 

 ried out. The Sea Island grower who uses this method should 

 take pains to learn the proper way to mop a cotton plant, oth- 

 erwise, he will almost surely be disappointed in the results. 



The mopping operation should be carried out at a steady 

 walk. Momentary pauses are made while dipping the mop 

 only. The mop, after it is dipped in the pail containing about 

 a half gallon of the mixture, is held somewhat loosely in the 

 hand, the handle inclined slightly forward. While walking 

 forward, the wet mop is pushed through the tops of the plants, 

 applying the poison to the main stems and limbs near the 

 top, and the undersides of the leaves surrounding the bud. 

 If the mop is dipped every forty feet or so, and held so as to 

 strike the plant just beneath the bud the poison will be applied 

 with its most telling effect. Boll weevils crawl about the 

 plants, so poison applied to the upper limbs and main stems 

 will be found quickly. In these locations, too, the poison is 

 shaded, and therefore remains in liquid form much longer 

 than if placed on the upper sides of the leaves. 



