BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY AND PLANT QUARANTINE 49 
PINK BOLLWORM CONTROL 
The outstanding developments of the year in the pink bollworm situation 
were the finding of infestation in sever.) 1 additional counties in northern 
Florida and western Texas, no recurrence of the insect \n the original infested 
areas of Florida and Georgia, and continued progress in the eradication of 
wild cotton in southern Florida and in the special control program in the 
Big Bend of Texas. 
The new findings involved 7 counties in Florida and 3 in western Texas. 
The fact that only 20 specimens were found in these 10 counties indicates 
that the infestations are extremely light. As mentioned in a previous report, 
the discovery of such light infestations is due to improved methods of inspec- 
tion, particularly to the use of the gin-trash machine. 
NEW INFESTATION IN FLORIDA 
On September 3, 1934, one larva of the pink bollworm was found in gin 
trash at Bascom in Jackson County. Jackson is the largest cotton-producing 
county in Florida. Additional gin-trash machines were sent to the area, and 
practically all trash in the county was inspected during the remainder of the 
season. As a result, seven additional specimens were taken at Bascom, and 
on September 26 a specimen was found in trash at Cottondale, also in Jackson 
County. Nearly 2,000 bushels of trash was inspected in this county; conse- 
quently, the finding of only nine specimens indicates that the infestation was 
very light. The other findings in Florida were in Suwannee, Levy, and 
Hamilton Counties, near the regulated area, and involved 3 additional counties, 
Dixie, Lafayette, and Taylor, which had no ginning facilities. Only seven speci- 
mens were found, indicating that the infestation is also very light in these 
counties. 
The Federal quarantine was immediately extended to take in the infested 
areas but, as the season was well advanced, it was impossible to obtain and 
install the necessary equipment for carrying out all of the regulations. The 
measures taken to prevent the spread of the insect consisted in sending the 
seed to designated mills, the compression of lint, the disposal of gin trash, 
and the clean-up of gins after the close of the season's operations. At the close 
of the fiscal year the ginners were making plans to install sterilizing equip- 
ment so as to carry out the regulations in full during the coming season. 
WILD COTTON IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA 
The eradication of wild cotton in southern Florida was begun in 1932 to 
eliminate a severe pink bollworm infestation and has been continued each 
successive year. Because of climatic conditions, this work can be carried 
on only during the fall, winter, and early spring. 
Eradication activities were resumed about the first of November, and, owing 
to a very dry season, especially good progress was made. All of the areas 
cleaned during previous seasons were again recleaned. During this recleaning 
intensive scouting was carried on to locate any cotton that had been over- 
looked, and a number of scattered plants and small colonies were found and 
removed. At Cape Sable, where most of the wild cotton is now located, a con- 
siderable area was cleaned for the first time, and in addition all of the area 
previously cleaned was covered. Many of the islands and keys in Florida 
Bay were also cleaned. During the season a first clean-up was made covering 
GOS 1 /. acres, from which 76,920 mature and 58,404 seedling plants were removed. 
From the area recleaned 6,463 mature, 1,666,621 seedling, and 150,477 sprout 
plants were removed. This might at firs; appear to be an unusually Large 
number of mature plants to have been found on areas previously cleaned. 
As the inspectors had had 2 years' experience with wild cotton, they hail 
naturally become more familiar with the various conditions under which it 
grows, and during the past year they were able t<> locate many plants that 
had been overlooked, as shown by the large number removed. Most of these oc- 
curred in the Cape Sable area. Because of the Importance of maintaining as 
great a distance as possible between the cultivated and the wild cotton, the seven 
most northerly counties along the west coast where wild cotton occurs were 
gone over after the regular clean-up work was discontinued. This was done to 
remove the seedlings that had come up ami thus prevent their fruiting before 
work can be resumed next fall. It is very encouraging to note that during 
24118—35 4 
