KILLING THE WORMS MECHANICALLY. 
135 
That decoctions or extracts from cotton leaves should prove attrac- 
tive to the moths was to be expected, since they contain a great deal 
of saccharine matter; but from the comparative experiment quoted 
above and from the established fact that the moth is indiscriminately 
attracted by all sorts of sweets, we are constrained to believe that Mr. 
L up ton's theory has no more practical value than the other plans men- 
tioned above to attract the moth. 
From the experience gained since the beginning of this Cotton Worm 
investigation we have come to the conclusion that of the two methods 
to kill the moth, that of alluring it to poisoned sweets appears by far 
preferable to any of the lamp traps that have been recommended. In 
combating this pest it would be unwise, however, to rely solely upon 
any attempt to kill the moth. The principal effort of the planters should 
be directed toward killing the worms; yet, considering the cheapness 
and effectiveness of killing the moths by poisonous sweets, any judicious 
and timely attempt in this direction is well worth trying. Whether or 
not the hibernating moths can be attracted to poisoned sweets during 
mild evenings, in winter or early spring, we are not prepared to say. 
There has not been much opportunity to settle this question by con- 
tinuous experiments made at the right place and at the right season, 
and from the failure of a lew isolated attempts it would be unjust and 
premature to draw general conclusions. 
The recommendation to use white rags in the lield has frequently 
been made in the Southern papers, on the supposition that the female 
moth is attracted to such rags and will lay her eggs thereon. We know 
not how this idea originated, but so far as we are able to learn it is one 
of the many fallacies that have prevailed regarding the habits of the 
insect. 
MECHANICAL MEANS OF KILLING THE WORMS. 
Even in a very thickly settled country, and with the employment of 
hundreds of hands, it would be next to impossible to save, in the height 
of the season, a large cotton-lield from destruction by simply collecting 
the worms. In our Southern States, where field labor is at present by 
no means abundant, picking off the worms when they are in destructive 
force in large fields is out of question, and can be profitably resorted 
to only on small patches favorably situated. Yet it is comparatively 
easy and requires but little time and a small force to thus destroy the 
worms of the first generation, though it cannot be denied that poison- 
ing the places where the first worms have been observed would be far 
more safe and economical than hand picking. If, therefore, the planter 
care to stimulate the efforts of children or field hands to find the first 
worms by offering some reward, it should be given for the discovery of 
the spot where the worms occur, and not for the capture of every worm 
up to a certain date. 
It has been proven by experience that every means by which the 
