CHRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF COTTON WORM INJURY. 27 



was taken, but the loss was by no means general. In Wayne County, 

 North Carolina, strange to say, the worms came in August and injured 

 the crop to a slight extent. South Carolina suffered no loss. In Geor- 

 gia, the southern tier and the coast counties were damaged quite badly, 

 but the remainder of the State escaped. 



Of the northern counties in Florida, Bradford, Leon, and Putnam 

 Bustained quite severe losses, while Santa Rosa, Jackson, and Duval 

 suffered none. In Alabama considerable damage was done to a few 

 counties, as Wilcox, Macon, Dallas, and Greene. In Mississippi and 

 Louisiana, the loss was insignificant. In Polk, Blanco, Matagorda 

 and Goliad Counties, Texas, the cotton was badly eaten, but the remain- 

 der of the State was comparatively exempt. 



The worms, instead of increasing in numbers in 1870, as should have 

 been the case according to the rule just mentioned, were decidedly fewer 

 and less destructive than in 1869, the same causes operating to produce 

 this result, as 1870 proved to be a year of severe and long-continued 

 drought. In North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ala- 

 bama, and Mississippi the worms were found, but almost no damage 

 resulted. Isolated counties in Texas suffered, while in Louisiana by 

 far the greatest damage of the year was done. Rapides, Avoyelles, 

 East Feliciana, Tensas, and Jackson Parishes each sustained a loss of 

 from 5 to 20 per cent. 



In 1871 the increase again commenced, the principal damage, as in 

 the previous year, being done in Louisiana. North and South Carolina 

 sustained no loss, and Georgia suffered but slightly. In Florida the 

 crop was so severely injured by heavy storms that the worms were 

 hardly noticed. In Alabama and Mississippi there was a decided in- 

 crease in the number of worms. In Louisiana the crop as a whole was 

 very badly damaged, though in many parishes the loss was slight. The 

 distribution of the points of heaviest injury was strange and difficult to 

 explain. Great loss was sustained in Iberia, Saint Landry, Washing- 

 ton, Avoyelles, and Caddo ; less in East and West Feliciana, Rapides, 

 and Richland ; while in Tangipahoa, Madison, Tensas, Red River, Clai- 

 borne, Ouachita, and Morehouse but few worms were to be found. In 

 Texas the worms were widely distributed, but in only a few counties was 

 even the top crop (representing 5 per cent, or a little more) taken. In 

 Lafayette County, Arkansas, the late-appearing caterpillars damaged 

 the crop to some extent. 



In 1872 occurred another and greater increase in the damage done 

 by the worms. In fact, the loss this year was so great that 1872 is en- 

 titled to be ranked as one of the years of general loss by the side of 

 1804, 1825, 1846, 1868, and 1873, although considerably inferior to the 

 last-named and possibly to the early ones. The caterpillars appeared 

 early in June in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. In Texas the amount 

 of damage was not great. In Louisiana it fully equaled that of the 

 previous year. Tangipahoa, Marion , Concordia, Rapides, Saint Landry, 



