DISEASES OF THE COTTON PLANT. 
171 
on the 1st of August, and plantations were stripped by the 
15th of September. The crop was cut off from one-third 
to two-fifths by the caterpillar and storm. In 1844 the 
cottoh-worm was found webbed up on the 13th of July, 
and by the 15th of September some plantations were en- 
tirely denuded ; yet, in other parts of the county, the rav- 
ages were only partial. In 1845 there was no appearance 
of the caterpillar. In 1846 it was found webbed up by 
the 7th of July. The second brood began to web up on 
the 26th of that month ; and by the 20th, the parts of the 
field in which the worm was first seen were found to be 
eaten out, and the fly, the worms, large and small, and the 
chrysalides, were discovered at the same time, a state of 
things never observed before. By the 5th of September 
the damage amounted to a loss of more than one-half of 
the crop. In 1847, although the fly was seen on the 16th 
of July, no injury was done to the crop. In 1848 it was 
but slightly injured ; but the year 1849 was particularly 
marked by the ravages of the caterpillar, as well as that 
of 1852. 
Colonel Whitner fiirther observes that these worms 
appear in successive broods, and accomplish the cycle of 
their transformations in from twenty-six to thirty days, 
which has also been corroborated by others. 
A caterpillar hatched from the egg, under my own in- 
spection, however, passed twenty days before webbing up ; 
but as it had been kept in confinement in a cold room, 
most probably the growth was not so rapid as it would 
have been in the open air and exposed to the warmth of 
the sun. The skin was shed five times during the period 
of its growth, and on the twentieth day the caterpillar her 
gan its web. 
In a very interesting communication from Mr. E. N. 
