210 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



tion in the field; tlie growth of volunteer cotton has been 

 largely prevented; and the field is left clean of old stalks, 

 facilitating thorough cultivation the following year. 

 '* Fields treated in this w^ay have given a practical demon- 

 stration of the usefulness of this method." (Howard, I.e.) 

 Where the fields are free from grass, cattle may be turned 

 in to graze on the green tips of the cotton and will thus 

 consume and destroy many of the beetles. Inasmuch as 

 a comparatively small number of the beetles which go into 

 hibernation pass through the winter alive, it is of the 

 utmost importance that their numbers be reduced as much 

 as possible in the fall. 



Those beetles which do winter successfully appear in the 

 spring rather late and as a consequence early cotton is but 

 little injured. The importance of cultivating early varie- 

 ties of w^hich the bolls develop before the pest becomes 

 abundant is therefore apparent. Furthermore, early 

 cotton brings by far the best prices and is usually not 

 subject to serious injury by other insect pests. Plants 

 grown from northern seed seem to mature earlier than 

 those grown in southern Texas. The selection and breed- 

 ing of early maturing varieties is therefore of considerable 

 importance in this connection. Growers in the heart of 

 the badly infested regions of Texas have found that by 

 merely growing early varieties they can secure a yield as 

 good as the average throughout the country. 



Injury being worst on low, moist ground, it would seem 

 best to reserve such land for other crops. 



^' In connection with the system of fall treatment of the 

 cotton, constant and thorough cultivation of the growing 

 crop is of considerable value, and is also what should be 

 done to insure a good yield. With a cross-bar to ])rush 



