INSECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTON. 205 



necessary. The entire success of this latter method of 

 combating the Cotton Boll-worm depends upon careful 

 observations and judicious planting, based upon a correct 

 knowledge of the life and habits of the insect. 



The Mexican Cotton Boll-weevil {Anthoiioinus grandU 



Boh.). 



Several of the worst insect pests of the South have 

 immigrated thither from Mexico. About 1890 some small 

 beetles came across the Eio Grande near Brownsville, 

 Texas, which so rapidly multiplied in numbers during the 

 following seasons that in certain sections the crojD was 

 entirely ruined. As early as 1862 these insects caused the 

 growers at Monclova, Mexico, to abandon the culture of 

 cotton, and when they again planted it, about 1893, the 

 beetles promptly appeared and destroyed the entire crop. 



At the close of 1894, an agent of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture (Mr. C. H. Townsend), sent 

 especially to investigate their ravages, reported that 

 between one-fifth and one-sixth cf the cotton-growing 

 section of Texas was infested, there being a loss of from 

 25 to 90 per cent of the crop. This meant 15 per cent of 

 the whole crop of the State, 3 per cent of that of the 

 United States, and in round numbers, 2 per cent of the 

 world's product, with a cash value of over $8,000,000. 

 The outlook was certainly alarming. 



Fortunately its worst ravages have been confined to the 

 southern portion of Texas. This is largely because the 

 damage done and the spread of the weevils are worst where 

 the top crop is most valued, which is the condition in 

 southern Texas. Its ultimate spread to other regions, 



