220 DISEASES OF THE COTTON PLANT. 
pod, or boll, is perforated by this bug. Whether the 
staining matter is imparted to the fibre of the cotton during 
the perforation directly, or by a sloT^^^ocess diflFiising it- 
self with the sap abounding at that time in the pod, is not 
yet ascertained. I am of the latter opinion, from the fact 
that almost the entire product of the boll is discolored 
when it opens, which does not seem at all to cause a pre- 
mature development. As winter approaches, they grad- 
ually retire, and take refuge among the logs, or burrow 
into the soil at the root of the cotton plant, where they 
hybernate. After a wet season, in winter, they may be 
found in hundreds on the sunny side of the stalks, enjoy- 
ing the genial atmosphere, until toward evening, when they 
again retire. They can be kept down very easily, when 
there are not more than five acres planted to the hand. 
" I have been in the habit of offering a reward every 
night to the negro that brings in the greatest quantity, 
each of whom is fiirnished with a pint bottle, suspended 
across the shoulders, into which, as they pass along pick- 
ing the cotton, they deposit all they can discover. In 
many instances I have seen the bottle filled by one negro 
in a day. They may also be greatly reduced by destroy- 
ing them when they come out in winter, in their half-torpid 
state ; a torch of fire in that case is best. They may be 
buried a foot under ground, and most of them will still 
escape from their inhumation. If there should be stumps 
or trees in the fields, they should be burned, and that will 
generally reduce the quantity for a year or more. In fact, 
when they receive timely and proper attention, they need 
not be dreaded. 
" No process that I know of can extract the stain pro- 
duced in the bolls ; it is indelible, and considerably re- 
duces the price of the cotton in the market. These insects 
