﻿OBSERVATIONS 
  IN 
  1905. 
  15 
  

  

  rial, 
  including 
  nine 
  stomachs 
  taken 
  in 
  summer, 
  furnishes 
  no 
  additional 
  

   records 
  of 
  boll 
  weevils 
  eaten 
  by 
  this 
  bird. 
  

  

  The 
  two 
  remaining 
  species, 
  the 
  brown 
  thrasher 
  and 
  the 
  black- 
  

   crested 
  titmouse, 
  find 
  a 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  list 
  of 
  boll 
  weevil 
  destroyers 
  on 
  

   the 
  strength 
  of 
  having 
  eaten 
  a 
  single 
  weevil 
  each. 
  

  

  RESULTS 
  OF 
  OBSERVATIONS 
  IN 
  1905. 
  

  

  STATUS 
  OF 
  THE 
  BOLL 
  WEEVIL. 
  

  

  The 
  winter 
  of 
  1904-5 
  was 
  unusually 
  severe 
  in 
  Texas, 
  and 
  the 
  

   spring 
  was 
  remarkable 
  for 
  excessive 
  rainfall 
  over 
  a 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   cotton-growing 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  The 
  months 
  of 
  July 
  and 
  August 
  

   were 
  characterized 
  by 
  extremely 
  hot, 
  dry 
  weather. 
  To 
  what 
  extent 
  

   the 
  winter 
  climatic 
  conditions 
  reduced 
  the 
  numbers 
  of 
  weevils 
  it 
  is 
  

   difficult 
  to 
  state, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  certain 
  that 
  during 
  the 
  spring 
  and 
  early 
  

   summer 
  of 
  1905 
  weevils 
  were 
  much 
  less 
  numerous 
  than 
  they 
  usually 
  

   are 
  at 
  that 
  season. 
  This 
  is 
  shown 
  both 
  by 
  the 
  comparatively 
  slight 
  

   amount 
  of 
  damage 
  done 
  to 
  the 
  cotton 
  crop 
  during 
  the 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  

   the 
  growing 
  season 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  small 
  number 
  of 
  adult 
  weevils 
  found 
  

   in 
  July 
  in 
  many 
  cotton 
  fields 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  seriously 
  infested 
  

   at 
  a 
  corresponding 
  date 
  in 
  1904. 
  The 
  entire 
  absence 
  of 
  boll 
  weevil 
  

   remains 
  from 
  the 
  stomachs 
  of 
  many 
  species 
  of 
  birds 
  known 
  to 
  eat 
  

   the 
  boll 
  weevil, 
  taken 
  in 
  February, 
  March, 
  and 
  May, 
  also 
  indicates 
  

   the 
  extreme 
  scarcity 
  of 
  the 
  weevils 
  at 
  that 
  season. 
  Gaut 
  examined 
  

   several 
  thousand 
  young 
  cotton 
  plants 
  at 
  Columbus 
  in 
  May 
  and 
  was 
  

   unable 
  to 
  find 
  a 
  single 
  weevil. 
  The 
  writer 
  visited 
  the 
  same 
  locality 
  

   the 
  last 
  week 
  in 
  July 
  and 
  found 
  the 
  infestation 
  even 
  then 
  very 
  slight. 
  

   This 
  was 
  true 
  of 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  other 
  widely 
  separated 
  localities 
  visited 
  

   during 
  June 
  and 
  July. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  a 
  well-established 
  fact 
  that 
  dry, 
  hot 
  weather 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  

   months 
  is 
  extremely 
  effective 
  in 
  checking 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  boll 
  weevils, 
  

   and 
  their 
  scarcity 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1905 
  is 
  partially 
  explained 
  

   by 
  the 
  prevalence 
  of 
  such 
  weather. 
  While 
  in 
  some 
  localities 
  during 
  

   the 
  late 
  summer, 
  weevils 
  increased 
  sufficiently 
  to 
  do 
  a 
  moderate 
  

   amount 
  of 
  damage, 
  at 
  other 
  localities 
  which 
  had 
  suffered 
  greatly 
  from 
  

   their 
  ravages 
  in 
  1904 
  the 
  damage 
  during 
  1905 
  was 
  inconsiderable, 
  

   and 
  even 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  September 
  very 
  few 
  adult 
  weevils 
  could 
  be 
  

   found 
  at 
  these 
  localities. 
  

  

  The 
  entire 
  season, 
  therefore, 
  was 
  not 
  favorable 
  for 
  obtaining 
  con- 
  

   clusive 
  results 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  relations 
  of 
  birds 
  and 
  weevils. 
  

   Observations 
  during 
  a 
  season 
  in 
  which 
  weevils 
  are 
  more 
  abundant 
  

   would 
  doubtless 
  show 
  a 
  larger 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  of 
  birds 
  feeding 
  upon 
  

   them 
  and 
  a 
  greater 
  number 
  of 
  weevils 
  consumed 
  per 
  bird. 
  

  

  