COTTON CULTURE 



6l 



bordering the cotton. They are to be planted late, so 

 that blooming will not occur until the destructive brood 

 appears, usually in August. A portion of the row should 

 be sprayed over every night with a mixture of four ounces 

 of beer and two ounces of potassium cyanide. Trap crops 

 have been found the most effective means of fighting the 

 worm. Plant five rows of early maturing sweet corn to 

 every twenty-five rows of cotton. The silk ends of this 

 corn should be cut off and destroyed by burning, and the 

 corn plants removed. Three rows of dent corn are planted 

 so that the silking period will 

 occur about July ist, or a little 

 later. These rows are to be al- 

 lowed to mature, as they will at- 

 tract the moth from the cotton, 

 and the worms will be destroyed 

 by parasites. 



MEXICAN COTTON-BOLL 

 WEEVIL 



THE BOLL WEEVIL 

 AT WORK. 



This is a small grayish weevil 

 measuring a little less than a 

 quarter of an inch in length. It is found in the cotton 

 fields throughout the season, puncturing and laying its 

 eggs in the squares and bolls. The squares attacked 

 usually drop, but the bolls either 'dry or rot. 



The boll weevil is the most destructive insect enemy known 

 to the cotton plant. Its ravages at present are confined 

 to the Western part of the cotton-growing area, but it is 



