326 REPORT 4, UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION, 



of the history. In 1871 the same periodical published from month to 

 mouth rather a sharp controversy on the subject of certain points in the 

 natural history of the worm, between Dr. E. H. Anderson, Mr. C. E, 

 Dodge, and Mr. A. E. Grote. 



The Carolina Farmer for 1869 contained an interesting item in the 

 shape of an account of a mass meeting of planters at Opelousas, La., to 

 discuss the Cotton Worm, at which meeting it was decided to unite in 

 the making of fires to destroy the moths. 



In 1870 was published our second report as State Entomologist of 

 Missouri, which contained a short article on the Cotton Worm, correcting 

 some previous mistakes, and giving facts gathered from an extensive 

 correspondence with Thomas Affleck and other prominent planters. 



In August, 1872, there appeared an editorial in the Mobile Register 

 (August 18, 1872), on the Cotton Caterpillar, which contained, as far as 

 we can find, the first published mention of the fact that Paris green 

 was being used as a remedy.^" This article was much copied by the agri- 

 cultural press, and may be found in the Carolina Farmer for September, 

 1872, and in the Southern Farm and Some for October of the same year. 



In June, 1873, the Illustrated Journal of Agriculture (St. Louis) con- 

 tained an abstract of certain remarks on the subject of Paris green made 

 by us before the National Agricultural Congress, meeting at Indian- 

 apolis. This article was at once copied by nearly all the prominent peri- 

 odicals South, and furnished the text for many articles by other writers. 

 Among these we may mention the " Essay on the best Mode of using 

 Paris Green for the Destruction of the Cotton Worm" by an "Alabama 

 Planter" (C. F. Prout, of Demopolis, Ala.). 



In the fall of this year the Department of Agriculture sent out cir- 

 culars asking the opinions of planters on the Paris green question, and 

 in the Annual Eeport for 1873 the answers were compiled, giving a very 

 general verdict in favor of the poison. 



The interest in the subject fast increased after this year, and the 

 number of newspaper articles increased in proportion. In 1874, a prize 

 offered by certain citizens of Selraa, Ala., for the best essay on " Prac- 

 tical Modes of destroying the Cotton Worm," was awarded to J. D. 

 Hoyt, of that city, and the essay was printed in pamphlet form. In 

 the essay are discussed Paris green, arsenious acid, fires, lantern-trai3s, 

 and the plan of knocking the worms from the plants. 



In March, 1874, our Sixth Eeport on the Insects of Missouri appeared, 

 containing a 7-page article on the Cotton Worm, devoted principally to 

 the consideration of Paris green as a remedy. There is also a discussion 

 as to the hibernation of the insect, and as to its northern range. In this 

 article we reiterated our belief in the hibernation of the moths and sug- 

 gested the probability of a northern food-plant other than cotton. 



In the Monthly Eeport of the Department for February and March, 

 1874, p. 125, the views of the entomologist (Mr. Glover) are stated on 

 the question of hibernation. His theory was "that in the more north- 



