IMPORTANT INSECT ENEMIES OF COTTON 131 



make no further growth or open only one or two of their 

 locks. A fair estimate of the damage inflicted upon the 

 cotton crop by the boll-weevil is hard to make owing to 

 the fact that it varies greatly from year to year. The 

 injury is much greater in wet than in dry seasons. The 

 damage is less in prairie regions where a minimum amount 

 of protection is afforded the hibernating weevils during 

 the winter months. Investigations by the Bureau of En- 

 tomology, Washington, D. C., and by E. D. Sanderson, 

 formely State Entomologist of Texas, indicate that dur- 

 ing the period from 1902 to 1911 the farmers of Texas, 

 without considering the value of the seed, sustained an an- 

 nual loss of $2.70 an acre, due to the ravages of the weevil. 

 It is assumed that the average area planted in cotton in 

 Texas during this period was 10,000,000 acres, in which 

 case the annual loss for the state for this period was ap- 

 proximately $27,000,000. Hunter states that " a conserva- 

 tive estimate shows that since the weevil has infested this 

 country it has caused a loss of 2,550,000 bales of cotton 

 at a value of about $125,000,000." This statement em- 

 braces the period from 1892 to 1911. 



155. Means of control. No entirely successful 

 means of fighting the cotton boll-weevil has, as yet, been 

 devised. Years of experience, observation and study, 

 especially as regards the life history and habits of this 

 insect have brought to light some very effective means of 

 reducing the injury which it inflicts. The more important 

 of these are briefly outlined below. 



156. Destroy cotton stalks early in fall. Those who 

 have given most study to the boll-weevil problem agree 

 that the most important step in reducing the damage 

 from this insect is the early destruction of the cotton 

 stalks. There are two principal reasons why this practice 



