IMPORTANT INSECT ENEMIES OF COTTON 133 



be collected and burned. It must be remembered that 

 of the thousands of weevils that fly out of the cotton fields 

 for hibernation, many are still within reach of the farmer. 



158. Make provision for an early crop. — As com- 

 paratively few boll-weevils survive the winter, the farmer 

 should stove in every way possible to induce his cotton 

 to set and develop a large number of bolls early in the 

 season, before the weevils have multiplied sufficiently 

 to do much damage. The important means of securing 

 an early crop are given: (1) A well-drained soil. (2) 

 Early and thorough preparation of the seed-bed. (3) 

 The use of such varieties as naturally set and develop a 

 large percentage of their bolls early. (4) The liberal use 

 of commercial fertiHzers where necessary to insure a prop- 

 erly balanced supply of food to the plants. A deficiency 

 of either nitrogen, phosphoric acid, or potash will delay 

 maturity. (5) Shallow and frequent cultivation. 



159. Proper spacing of plants. — The boll-weevil 

 has natural enemies such as heat and parasites. The 

 wide spacing of the plants augments the action of these 

 natural enemies. The hot summer's heat not only checks 

 the rate at which the weevils multiply, but greatly in- 

 creases their mortahty, especially during the larva stage. 

 The farmer can take advantage of this by giving an abun- 

 dance of space between the cotton rows and between the 

 plants in the row. Thick spacing of the cotton plants, per- 

 mitting the limbs to overlap freely, produces ideal condi- 

 tions for the development of the weevU. On land of average 

 productiveness where the weevils are abundant the rows 

 should be five feet apart. This admits the sun readily to 

 the infected squares. 



Investigations have shown that the mortahty of the 

 larvae is less in the infested squares that drop and remain 



