SOUTHERN FHID-CROP I IT SECTS 
BOLL WEEv'JL ( Anthonomus ~r and is Boh. ) 
General B. P., Coad (August 25): The weevil season of 192U which is 
r.ow "drawing to a close has "been a most peculiar one # Emergence 
over the cotton "belt as a whole was generally rather light, 
with the exception possibly of sonie extreme southerly points 
such as the ffulf Coast of Texas. In most of the territory, 
however, the initial emergence ranged from 1/5 to l/lO of that 
of last year* For this reason weevils were quite generally 
not abundant enough to cause any particular injury to the "bottom 
crops of cotton, which were made during the activities of 
individuals which had emerged from hibernation* Following this, 
of course, the question of summer rainfall "became the dominant 
one. Roughly speaking, from Alabama westward the season has 
. generally been very abnormally dry. In many sections there was 
nn precipitation from May until the middle of August, other 
than purely 1 ccal showers. This absence of general rains "brought 
. . about a very high degree of climatic control, which was accentu- 
ated "by the unusually small plant growth of the season. As a 
revolt- throughout this territory weevil damage has "been 
abnormally small. Of course, in almost all localities there are 
a few fields which for some reason or other produced a more 
or less normal growth of cotton and had sufficient weevils 
to do some damage, but these are the exception rather than the 
rule. For example, in the vicinity of Taiiuiah, where in a 
normal season almost every field of cotton is injured somewhat 
by the weevil, we have not over a half a dozen fields out of 
more than 50C:which are -under observation which have experienced 
any damage whatever from the weevil this season. In all others 
the cotoife j>nat 3 an of low emergence followed by a high degree 
of climatic control lias kept the weevil at such a low ebb that 
- "' ' ' there^has been absolutely no crop loss attiibutable to boll 
weevil.' The recent rains are apparently stimulating multipli- 
cation of the weevil's somewhat, but the majority of crops are so 
completely mature that this will have little significance as far 
as' the present season *s cotton is concerned, the main --question 
now being the one of weevil abundance for entering hibernation. 
The southeastern States, particularly Georgia and South 
Carolina, had a very different season, experiencing more or less 
the ordinary rainfall, and weevil damage has "been very much 
heavier, though probably not as heavy as a general rule as has 
been the case for the past couple of years. 
■; Damage by other insects this season has been, as usual 
sporadic and local. Throughout the afceas where there has been 
a shortage of rainfall, both aphis and red spiders' have been 
very exceedingly abundant, as Is always the case in dry 
years, and here and- there they nave become sufficiently abundant 
to actually injure the crop. The fall arrnyworm has been 
- 239 - 
