4 BULLETIN 918, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



has to be well prepared and thoroughly cultivated in order to con- 

 serve the moisture. The cotton planting begins about February 15 

 and may continue until June if there are June rains or water in the 

 river. The land is planted as soon as possible after it dries out, as 

 this is necessar} T to secure germination. 



Cotton is the principal crop grown in this section, and while there 

 are small areas devoted to corn, wheat, beans, and alfalfa, most of 

 the planters use their land year after year for cotton and buy the 

 feed for their domestic animals elsewhere. No very reliable data 

 are available on acreage and production in the Laguna, but the an- 

 nual production varies from 60,000 to 150,000 bales, with an aver- 

 age crop of from 75,000 to 80,000 bales. The yield varies from one- 

 fourth bale to 2 bales per acre, with an average of from one-half to 

 three-fourths of a bale. All of the cotton is of the short-stapled 

 varieties, as it has been found by experience that these give better 

 results than the long-staple or Egyptian varieties. 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE PINK BOLLWORM. 



The species is widely distributed throughout the cotton-producing 

 world, and according to Gough (12) 3 is now known to occur in India, 

 Palestine, Mesopotamia, Ceylon, Burma, Straits Settlements, China, 

 Japan, the Philippine and Hawaiian Islands, East Africa, Zanzibar, 

 Egypt, Sudan, West Africa (Southern Nigeria, Sierra Leone), Brazil, 

 Mexico, and Texas in the United States. It has more recently been 

 found in a limited area in western Louisiana adjoining the infesta- 

 tion in eastern Texas. 



INTRODUCTION INTO MEXICO. 



The pink bollworm was introduced into Mexico in 1911. During 

 that season two importations of Egyptian seed were made. One 

 consisted of 125 sacks and was planted near Monterey, in the State of 

 Nuevo Leon. The other, consisting of 6 tons, was planted near San 

 Pedro, State of Coahuila, in the Laguna district. From what is known 

 of the abundance of the pink bollworm in Egypt in 1911 it is probable 

 that both shipments of seed were infested and that both of them con- 

 tributed to the present infestation in Mexico. Cotton culture has not 

 been continued in the vicinity of Monterey, but the crop of Egyptian 

 cotton produced there in 1911 attracted considerable attention and 

 much of the seed was shipped to the Laguna. 



At the present time the pink bollworm is generally and uniformly 

 distributed in the Laguna. 



PRESENT DISTRIBUTION IN MEXICO. 



Outside of the Laguna district the pink bollworm is known to be 

 established in three localities in Mexico. One of these is at Santa 



3 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to " Literature cited, 7 ' p. 57. 



