COTTON CULTURE. 95 



ing to the centre of a full grown boll, where he lies con- 

 cealed till near the time of his transformation. 



The peculiarity of this worm is that his natural food 

 is corn, which he always prefers, but will attack cotton if 

 the other plant is not at hand. The moth which pro- 

 duces the worm is thus described by a planter in Jackson, 

 Mississippi, who has evidently made the subject a study. 

 " Of a pale yellow or shining ash color, length of body 

 and wings an inch and one eighth, the wings expanded 

 two inches, the upper covering the lower. Below the cen- 

 tre and near the border of the upper wings are two dark 

 spots, with two or three indistinct ones on each upper 

 wing ; end of the wing whitish, having a wavy dark band 

 near the border. Throat a little convex, downy ; abdomen 

 color of wings and downy ; proboscis folded spirally un- 

 derneath, double, half an inch long; eyes large, clear 

 yellowish-green. Six legs, antennae fusiform; lies con- 

 cealed in the day in fence corners and around stumps, 

 flies only late in the evening and at night near the ground 

 and rapidly." 



In the early part of July this moth pairs, and in four 

 days lays about seven hundred and fifty eggs, soon after 

 which it dies. 



These eggs are deposited on the silks of corn. In three 

 days they hatch, and the young worms commence feeding 

 on the green corn and the silk. Remaining here about 

 two weeks, the worm then goes down into the ground to 

 the depth of three inches, where it is transformed into a 

 chrysalis of bright mahogany color and conical shape, and 

 about an inch in length. In sixteen days, the moth above 

 described bursts from the crysalis. The moth of the sec- 

 ond generation finds, at this time of the year, little or no 

 corn in the silk, in the cotton latitudes, and in the ab- 

 sence of its favorite plant, lays its eggs on the top bud or 

 on the ends of the side buds of the cotton plant. 



At the time of this deposit, if the weather is dry and 



