ANSWERS TO CIRCULAR NO. 7. [81] 



as worms. Occasional instances of men being nauseated while mixing the green with 

 flour and plaster, or even while sifting it on the plant, have come to my notice ; but 

 a single dose of the antidote, hydrated oxide of iron, always gave relief. A good many 

 instances occur of men becoming chafed by riding, and the flour mixture and even the 

 water getting on their persons causes soreness, and sometimes swelling of the parts 

 accompanied by an eruption of white pimples ; but this is soon relieved by the use of 

 the antidote externally or an occasional application of sweet oil and sprinkling of 

 flour. This trouble is preventeiJ by use of oil-cloth aprons and free use of strong soap 

 after working with the mixtures. Mules are sometimes made sore around and under 

 the tail and on flanks and shoulders if care is not taken to wash them clean of the flour 

 mixture, which becomes caked in the hair. 



15. I have found the application of Paris green the surest poison for destroying the 

 worm, applied in the early morning and late evening, mixed with flour and equal 

 parts plaster of Paris and land plaster, 6 pounds green to 200 pounds, carefully and 

 thoroughly mixed and sifted before using, and then sifted on each side of the row 

 through a No. 24 sifter, and during the heat of the day when the leaves are dry, | 

 pound to 1 pound green to 40 gallons water, sprinkled on each side of the row with a 

 2-gallon watering-pot, ordinary sized rose, perforated with holes about the size of a 

 knitting-needle. The drawbacks the cotton-grower has to contend with are many. 

 First, if the worms come early, say about August 1, in "sufficient numbers to justify 

 the use of green, the next crop, which comes about September 1, will destroy his crop ; 

 besides the work of cultivation is not completed. If they do not appear until 1st to 

 lOtii of September, he is then compelled to devote his time to picking the crop on 

 sandy lands, and a loss of a week from this.important work results eventually in great 

 loss. If the worm appears in force about the middle of August the planter is then 

 better prepared to destroy them, and the plant in a better condition to justify the ex- 

 pense ; but often the weather is very showery, and much of the green is washed off, 

 and the plant is partially stripped before the worms are killed ; also, now that Paris 

 green is so extensively used for this purpose, the article is very much adulterated, and 

 while he pays less apparently per pound for it, it requires more of it to same quantity 

 of flour or water, and even then it is not so destructive. Our great need is a cJieap, 

 soluble poison, which will dissolve thoroughly in water and kill the worm and not 

 bum the cotton. 



16. The cost of application, outside of first cost of the Paris green, depends upon a 

 good many contingencies — convenience of water, size of cotcon plant requiring more 

 or less of the mixture to the acre. Where applied mixed with water and the water 

 is convenient, as is generally the case in this parish, it will cost from $1 to |1.50 per 

 acre. When applied mixed with flour and plaster (by far the most efficacious pro ■ 

 cess) it will cost from $1.50, at the lowest, to $2.50 per acre. The best and surest plan 

 for the cotton-planter to protect himself against the ravages of Cotton Worms is to 

 list up his lands in December, and very early in January replow, plant early, and 

 force the plant to maturity by constant, judicious cultivation. This mode costs as 

 much per acre as the application of Paris green, but It is money better spent, as the 

 soil is kept in better plight by such a process. Still, under favorable circumstances, 

 I am a strong advocate for the use of Paris green, or any other efficient poison, to kill 

 this worm, and use the green whenever my crops are threatened with injury by the 

 worms. 



Very respectfully vours, 



F. S. SHIELDS. 

 C. V. Riley, CMef U. S. E. C. 



Natchitoches, La., September 29, 1879. 

 First, in order to answer your questions intelligently, I will give a slight outline of 

 the geographical location and situation of the parish of Natchitoches. It is situate 

 in the northwest part of the State of Louisiana, the greater portion being imme- 

 diately south of the thirty-second degree of north latitude, its greatest length being 

 from southeast to northwest. It had a population, according to the census of 1870, of 

 18,265. Had in cultivation last year, or rather in the previous year (1877), in cotton, 

 23,800 acres, and produced 13,949 bales of cotton. The lands are particularly fertile 

 and productive, yielding the greatest abundance of the fruits of the eartli with a 

 small outlay of labor. As to your questions : 



1. I answer only for the parish of Natchitoches, La. Cotton was first planted in 

 this parish about the beginning of this century. 



2. The first appearance of the worms in this locality was in the year 1823, late in the 

 autumnal season, and they did but little damage to the cotton plant. The second 

 time was in the year 1840, doiug again very little damage, and creating no alarm in 

 the minds of the planters; but when they came again, in the year 1844, they did con- 

 siderable damage, causing serious alarm to those engaged in planting, making them 



63 CONG— AP 6 



