﻿12 
  BIRDS 
  KNOWN 
  TO 
  EAT 
  THE 
  BOLL 
  WEEVIL. 
  

  

  chosen 
  roosting 
  thickets 
  or 
  feeding 
  grounds. 
  On 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  farms 
  

   one 
  or 
  more 
  flocks 
  had 
  taken 
  up 
  quarters 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  houses 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  

   orchard 
  or 
  garden 
  and 
  had 
  become 
  comparatively 
  tame. 
  At 
  Mr. 
  

   NeeFs 
  place, 
  where 
  most 
  of 
  my 
  work 
  Avas- 
  done, 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  about 
  a 
  

   dozen 
  birds 
  lived 
  in 
  the 
  orchard, 
  garden, 
  and 
  barnyard, 
  and 
  when 
  

   frightened 
  rarely 
  flew 
  beyond 
  these 
  limits. 
  The 
  farthest 
  from 
  the 
  

   house 
  that 
  I 
  ever 
  found 
  them 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  adjoining 
  cotton 
  

   field, 
  where 
  toward 
  sundown 
  they 
  were 
  often 
  seen 
  feeding. 
  Mr. 
  

   Neel 
  called 
  my 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  about 
  one-third 
  more 
  cotton 
  

   had 
  been 
  gathered 
  from 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  field 
  near 
  the 
  house, 
  where 
  

   his 
  100 
  chickens 
  and 
  these 
  quail 
  habitually 
  fed 
  during 
  the 
  summer, 
  

   than 
  over 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  field. 
  At 
  the 
  farther 
  end 
  of 
  this 
  field 
  

   another 
  flock 
  of 
  8 
  or 
  10 
  quail 
  lived 
  in 
  the 
  mesquite 
  brush 
  and 
  made 
  

   daily 
  rounds 
  out 
  into 
  the 
  field 
  to 
  feed. 
  The 
  birds 
  were 
  shot 
  in 
  other 
  

   fields 
  farther 
  from 
  the 
  house, 
  and 
  in 
  all 
  cases 
  either 
  out 
  in 
  the 
  fields, 
  

   where 
  they 
  were 
  usually 
  found 
  feeding 
  during 
  the 
  morning 
  and 
  

   evening 
  hours, 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  brush 
  along 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  the 
  fields, 
  where 
  

   they 
  roosted 
  at 
  night 
  and 
  were 
  generally 
  found 
  during 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  

   the 
  day. 
  

  

  The 
  fact 
  that 
  at 
  this 
  time 
  the 
  quail 
  were 
  feeding 
  almost 
  exclusively 
  

   on 
  weed 
  seeds 
  was 
  evidently 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  great 
  abundance 
  of 
  freshly 
  

   ripened 
  seeds. 
  During 
  the 
  summer 
  months 
  the 
  quail, 
  especially 
  

   the 
  young, 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  feed 
  to 
  a 
  much 
  greater 
  extent 
  on 
  insect 
  food, 
  

   and 
  it 
  is 
  reasonable 
  to 
  expect 
  that 
  later 
  in 
  the 
  season, 
  especially 
  dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  spring 
  months, 
  after 
  the 
  weevils 
  have 
  left 
  the 
  

   cotton, 
  the 
  quail 
  scratch 
  them 
  up 
  from 
  under 
  leaves 
  and 
  rubbish. 
  

  

  CONDITION 
  OF 
  COTTON 
  FIELDS 
  DURING 
  INVESTIGATIONS. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  field 
  work 
  at 
  Seguin, 
  October 
  31, 
  1901, 
  

   cotton 
  picking 
  was 
  just 
  completed; 
  but 
  owing 
  to 
  recent 
  rains 
  a 
  sec- 
  

   ond 
  crop 
  of 
  leaves, 
  buds, 
  and 
  young 
  bolls 
  had 
  started 
  on 
  the 
  tops 
  of 
  

   the 
  cotton 
  plants, 
  arid 
  the 
  weevils 
  were 
  actively 
  engaged 
  in 
  feeding 
  

   on 
  the 
  buds 
  or 
  young 
  bolls 
  within 
  the 
  cover 
  of 
  the 
  closed 
  squares. 
  

   The 
  weevils 
  apparently 
  were 
  less 
  abundant 
  than 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  

   months, 
  and 
  as 
  their 
  breeding 
  season 
  seemed 
  to 
  have 
  closed 
  they 
  were 
  

   probably 
  also 
  less 
  active. 
  Otherwise, 
  the 
  conditions 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  related 
  

   to 
  the 
  weevils 
  were 
  essentially 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  in 
  summer. 
  These 
  condi- 
  

   tions 
  were 
  unchanged 
  up 
  to 
  November 
  12, 
  when 
  the 
  first 
  hard 
  frost 
  

   of 
  the 
  season 
  occurred 
  over 
  most 
  of 
  southern 
  Texas, 
  including 
  Se- 
  

   guin, 
  where 
  investigations 
  were 
  in 
  progress 
  at 
  the 
  time. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  

   cotton 
  was 
  killed, 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  third 
  day 
  the 
  weevils 
  had 
  left 
  the 
  dead 
  

   and 
  dried-up 
  cotton 
  tops 
  and 
  disappeared. 
  Still, 
  a 
  few 
  fields 
  or 
  parts 
  

   of 
  fields 
  escaped 
  the 
  frost, 
  and 
  from 
  November 
  13 
  to 
  20, 
  in 
  the 
  vicin- 
  

   ity 
  of 
  Columbus, 
  Eagle 
  Lake, 
  and 
  Wharton, 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  birds 
  

   were 
  shot 
  in 
  and 
  around 
  these 
  fields 
  to 
  determine 
  whether 
  they 
  were 
  

  

  