KILLING THE WORMS MECHANICALLY. 135 



That decoctions or extracts from cotton leaves should prove attrac- 

 tive to the moths was to be expected, since they contain a great deal 

 of saccharine matter; but from the comparative experiment quoted 

 above and from the established fact that the moth is indiscriminately 

 attracted by all sorts of sweets, we are constrained to believe that Mr. 

 Lupton's theory has no more practical value than the other plans men- 

 tioned above to attract the moth. 



From the experience gained since the beginning of this Cotton Worm 

 investigation we have come to the conclusion that of the two methods 

 to kill the moth, that of alluring it to poisoned sweets appears by far 

 preferable to any of the lamp traps that have been recommended. In 

 combating this pest it would be unwise, however, to rely solely upon 

 any attempt to kill the moth. The principal effort of the planters should 

 be directed toward killing the worms ; yet, considering the cheapness 

 and effectiveness of killing the moths by poisonous sweets, any judicious 

 and timely attempt in this direction is well worth trying. Whether or 

 not the hibernating moths can be attracted to poisoned sweets during 

 mild evenings, in winter or early spring, we are not prepared to say. 

 There has not been much opportunity to settle this question by con- 

 tinuous exiieriments made at the right place and at the right season, 

 and from the failure of a few isolated attempts it would be unjust and 

 premature to draw general conclusions. 



The recommendation to use white rags in the field has frequently 

 been made in the Southern papers, on the supposition that the female 

 moth is attracted to such rags and will lay her eggs thereon. We know 

 not how this idea originated, but so far as we are able to learn it is oae 

 of the many fallacies that have prevailed regarding the habits of the 

 insect. 



MECHANICAL MEANS OF KILLING THE WORMS. 



Even in a very thickly settled country, and with the employment of 

 hundreds of hands, it would be next to impossible to save, in the height 

 of the season, a large cotton-field from destruction by simply collecting 

 the worms. In our Southern States, where field labor is at present by 

 no means abundant, picking off the worms when they are in destructive 

 force in large fields is out of question, and can be profitably resorted 

 to only on small patches favorably situated. Yet it is comparatively 

 easy and requires but little time and a small force to thus destroy the 

 worms of the first generation, though it cannot be denied that poison- 

 ing the places where the first worms have been observed would be far 

 more safe and economical than hand-picking. If, therefore, the planter 

 care to stimulate the efforts of children or field hands to find the first 

 worms by offering some reward, it should be given for the discovery of 

 the spot where the worms occur, and not for the capture of every worm 

 up to a certain date. 



It has been proven by experience that every means by which the 



