[38] 



\Yorm8 aiid chrysalides have heen found in this latitude — 33° N. — as early as the 22d 

 of June, the presumption is that diligent search would reveal them still earlier, and 

 the conclusion is irresistible that they pass through our winter in some form, and are 

 developed by the first hot weather, and from thence continue their transformations, 

 accelerated or retarded by meteorological iniiuences, to the end of the season. As I 

 know from practical experiment that the temperature of the air near the earth is 

 increased by stirring damp or wet soil (see p. 147, Patent Office Report, 1870), and 

 also by the decomposition of fertilizable matter ; and as the hatching of the egg is 

 dependent upon a certain degree of heat and moisture, I can readily apprehend how 

 in early hot weather the few eggs that may be placed upon thejilant may be speedily 

 hatched. In the cases cited, where the worms appeared upon elevations in June, I 

 think it was due to the combined causes of artificial heat from decomposition of fer- 

 tilizable matter and stirring damp soil. The difficulty in bridging the gap from 

 March to the first appearance of the worm in cotton, referred to by Professor Riley in 

 Bulletin No. 3, p. 28, may be solved on tbe theory that the worm is hatched out under 

 favorable circumstances during warm spells in April and May, but in such small numbers 

 as not to be noticeable. If we assume the fact that they are not hatched out until cotton 

 has attained a certain growth, and that they will eat nothing but cotton, the question 

 may be asked, On what does the larva of the cotton moth feed that has been found on 

 peaches, watermelons, and other fruits in the North, where reliable entomologists say 

 they are found ? Later on in the season, the speedy evaporation of dew and rain in 

 showery weather into vapor constitutes the true causes of ordinary solar hatching, 

 and I believe the egg of Aletia to be as dependent upon atmospheric conditions and 

 long terms of heat and dampness, such as recur only at irregular intervals in this lati- 

 tude, for its spread over large areas as I believe the germ of yellow fever to be de- 

 pendent for its production and dissemination upon similar causes. There are m special 

 localities so many modifying agents as to make it impossible to apply general princi- 

 ples to all alike. Ignoring this fact has led to discrepancies among observers and a 

 diversity of theories to account for certain observed phenomena. Take, for instance, 

 the more frequent appearance of the worms in wet spots, and their development there 

 in larger numbers. One, as Mr. Davis, of Texas, for instance, accounts'for it by sup- 

 posing that the presence of the worm is due to the absence of the ants, their arch de- 

 stroyers. Others attribute it to the luxuriant and succulent condition of the plant as 

 furnishing preferable food for both moth and larvae. Each one of these views is 

 sustained by apparent facts, and yet all combined are not sufficient to account satis- 

 factorily for a phenomenal circumstance which we often witness, and which has been 

 strougly emphasized by Dr. Phares as a remarkable topographical feature. It is the 

 unexpected appearance of the worm in wet spots or limited areas in such numbers as 

 to destroy the cotton, stripping it of all its leaves and young bolls, eating up to a 

 line and then disappearing, where, as he says, ants were on both sides of the line in 

 like numbers and the plant in like condition. This striking feature has been noticed 

 by myself on many occasions, yet only after the land had been disturbed by the plow 

 while in a wet condition ; and having tested by the thermometer the condition of the 

 lower stratum of air after plowing, and having found the temperature increased 

 thereby from 10° to 12° F., and by parity of reasoning knowing that it would be in- 

 creased proportionately in damp soil ; and observation through a series of years hav- 

 ing convinced me that heat and dampness were the main factors in the hatching pro- 

 cess (see p. 18, 19, 20, in Bulletin No. 3), I have arrived at the conclusion that artificial 

 heat and dampness, thus produ<3ed, hatch out a larger number of eggs than all other 

 causes combined, and the reason why it is not of annual occurrence in this latitude is 

 that a high degree of temperature, alternating with showers and sunshine, must pre- 

 vail, and this is only of periodical occurrence. Farther South this condition would 

 characterize the seasons to a greater or less extent, particularly along the Gulf coast 

 and inland up to a certain degree, or so far as, owing to geographical position, the ter- 

 ritory was under the influence of the warm tropical winds loaded with the moisture 

 of the Gulf. lu this more southerly belt, I have no doubt, natural causes operate to 

 produce an annual crop of insects, as the temperature would enable them to pass 

 through their transformations continuously. 



The advocates of the ant theory all likewise advise not to plow wet spots or wet 

 land, for the reason, as they say, that by so doing the ants are disturbed and de- 

 stroyed ; but, according to my observation, there will be at any time but few ants fre- 

 quenting such spots, and especially early in the season or before midsummer and by 

 midsummer. If the worms have been developed early they will spread over the ele- 

 vated lands in despite of the ants, though there they most abound. Entomologists 

 have established the fact that the ant is in quest of sweets, though almost omnivor- 

 ous in its appetite ; and as the cotton plant is infested with insects that secrete sweets, 

 as well as nectar producing, and as the ants are always found there, whether there 

 be any Avorms or not, the conclusion is irresistible that a worm diet is exceptional, 

 and in the aggregate amounts to but little in the way of protection to the crop. I have 

 watched the ants sipping nectar from the bracts of the May-pop flower as well as 



