34 PROLIFERATION IN CONTROL OF BOLL WEEVIL. q 
It should be stated that the attempt to seal punctures by applying a | 
solution of agar-agar was not successful, as upon drying it would peel — 
away from the boll, leaving the puncture practically open. The 
sealing with a solution of shellac resulted successfully in most cases. 
Among the 1,103 artificial punctures made proliferation resulted | 
in 36.8 per cent. While this percentage is hardly half that found in | 
Table II for feeding punctures of the weevil, it seems fully as large © 
as should be expected from the unfavorable conditions prevailing in | 
these tests. Among the 604 unsealed punctures at Dallas prolifera-_ 
tion resulted in 30 per cent. Among the 223 instances of proliferation | 
recorded from these unsealed punctures 62.8 per cent were from — 
the inner side of the carpel, 36.3 per cent were in the seeds, and 1 per | 
cent in the septa separating the locks. A comparison with the | 
results from the 38 sealed punctures at Dallas shows in the latter case © 
proliferation formed in 44.7 per cent of the punctures. Among the 20 — 
instances of proliferation resulting, 85 per cent occurred in the carpel | 
and 15 per cent in the septa. 
COMPARISON OF RESULTS FROM SIMPLE NEEDLE PUNCTURES WITH 
EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL INJECTIONS. 
Comparing next the results from simple needle punctures with 
those from chemical injections for the Dallas experiments, it is found — 
that from the needle punctures proliferation resulted in 24.1 per cent — 
of the total cases, while from the chemical injections it resulted in 45.9 | 
per cent of cases. It should be stated, however, that decay was much — 
more common in the cases of chemical treatment, and in many locks it | 
was impossible to tell whether the decay had closely followed or | 
whether it had caused the proliferation. | 
An examination of the records for Hidalgo shows that proliferation 
resulted from 44.6 per cent of all simple needle punctures and from | 
45.1 per cent of those receiving chemical injections. 
COMPARISON OF RESULTS FROM SEALED AND UNSEALED PUNCTURES. 
In acomparison of results from 164 sealed and 630 unsealed simple | 
needle punctures it is found that proliferation resulted in 53.7 per cent | 
of the sealed punctures and in 28.1 per cent of those unsealed. In the 
chemically treated punctures proliferation resulted in 47 per cent of — 
the 249 unsealed and in only 40 per cent of the 60 sealed. As these per- 
centages in chemically treated punctures stand in inverse proportion — 
to those in simple needle punctures, it does not appear that a well- 
founded conclusion can be drawn as to the influence which the sealing — 
of punctures may have upon the subsequent formation of proliferation, — 
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