46 WEEVIL-RESISTING ADAPTATIONS OF COTTON. 



with the facts obvious in the fields; indeed, they greatly misrepre- 

 sent them. Thus the percentage of weevil injuries ;n flared and 

 fallen squares does not appear very much higher in the Kekchi cotton 

 than in the Sea Island and Upland varieties; yet as a matter of 

 fact the squares of the Kekchi cotton seldom flared for any other 

 reason than weevil injuries, and much less often for this cause than 

 did those of other varieties. Many small squares of the Kekchi cot- 

 ton fall off, however, before they are large enough or open enough 

 to be attacked by the weevils." This takes place in the other varie- 

 ties to a much smaller extent, but with them the apparent percentage 

 of weevil injuries among flared squares is much diminished, because 

 many squares stand open and appear as though beginning to flare, 

 even before the weevils have attacked them. 



PROLIFERATION OF INTERNAL TISSUES OF BUDS. 



The protection of the buds does not end with devices for the exclu- 

 sion of the adult weevils, nor with the rejection of those in which they 

 have laid their eggs. It is also possible for the plant to heal the 

 wound, and bring the injured bud to maturity by preventing the 

 growth of the weevil larva. Where the climate is dry the Aveevil 

 larva 3 in the rejected buds are killed, as already explained. The 

 humid climate alternative of the falling of the parasitized squares is 

 proliferation, the growth inside the bud of loose, watery tissue in 

 which the larva does not develop. Whether the larva is killed by 

 smothering, starving, or poisoning, or by some combination of these, 

 is not yet known. Starvation is a sufficient explanation, since the 

 material with which the larva becomes surrounded can be no adequate 

 substitute for the highly nutritious pollen grains on which the infant 

 larva would otherwise feed. 



Proliferation is much more frequent in the Kekchi cotton than in 

 any of our United States varieties, as far as known. The first and 

 second punctures are commonly resisted successfully, but the third, 

 fourth, or fifth attempt may succeed in the development of a larva. 

 The proportion of weevil punctures rendered ineffective by prolifera- 

 tion was found to run well above 50 per cent, sometimes between 80 

 and 90. (PL V.) 



The promptness and efficiency of proliferation bear an inverse pro- 

 portion to the size of the buds. As the latter grow larger the mass of 

 anthers inside becomes less compact, and the other tissues become too 



a Professor Pittier found in the latter part of the season that the huds of 

 the Kekchi cotton were sometimes cut away at the base and left hanging in a 

 wilted condition. These were at first taken for flared squares as the result 

 of weevil injuries, but it was later ascertained that this was not the case, 

 though the true cause was not learned. The damage was done in the night. 



