BUREAU OF PLAXT QUARANTINE 23 
as the plot cotton. Worms had been found in 60 of the trap plots and 37 adja- 
cent fields, indicating that the infestation was building up slowly. This was 
further borne out by the results of the gin-trash inspection which began the latter 
part of August. In the first 5 bales ginned an average of 136.6 worms per bale 
was found, whereas the previous season the first cotton from this same farm con- 
tained an average of 1.160.5 worms per bale. Another farm had an average of 
336.5 worms per bale in the first cotton of the 1933 crop, whereas the first cotton 
of the 1932 crop had contained an average of 922 pink bollworms per bale. The 
infestation continued to increase, and by the end of the season as many worms per 
bushel were being taken in gin trash as in the 1932 crop. The number of worms 
found during the two seasons is hardly comparable, however, as floods put an 
end to gin-trash inspection in 1932. If these floods had not occurred there is 
very little doubt that a considerably larger number of worms would have been 
found in the 1932 crop than in the 1933 crop. The actual field damage was 
considerably less than that in the previous year. 
During the 1933 crop season, as the farmers feared another flood, the cotton 
was picked as fast as it opened, and ginned. This permitted the cleaning of 
fields early in November, the most heavily infested ones being cleaned first. In 
Brewster County 130 acres were cleaned, and 3,305 in Presidio County, making 
a total of 3,435 acres for the area. This was cleaned at an average cost of $3.49 
per acre. The previous season the average cost per acre was *4, the decrease 
being due in part to the fact that the laborers were able to do better work on 
account of the previous year's experience, but principally to the fact that much 
more assistance was received from the farmers. They realized that it was to 
their advantage to help in this undertaking, and one of them furnished a truck 
and driver, while others furnished sacks and tools and spent considerable time in 
the field assisting in the work without any remuneration. In addition to the field 
clean-up, a clean-up was made along certain roads where the underbrush had 
dragged seed cotton from the wagons. This was followed by a house-to-house 
canvass, and all places where cotton had been stored, together with all trucks, 
wagons, etc., used in hauling seed cotton, were cleaned. 
Trap plots were used again this season, but they were confined to the most 
heavily infested part of the area. A total of 25 piots, consisting of 400 plants 
each, were put out in the Presidio section. These plants were grown in hotbeds 
and later transferred to the fields. On one farm in this section some stub cotton 
came up, and about 60 plants were left as a trap. In Brewster County two 
U-acre plots were used, the cotton having been planted in the field early in March. 
Fortunately no cold weather was experienced and these plots did very well. 
The first blooms occurred the latter part of May, and a few worms were found in 
the two plots in Brewster County and in the stub plot in the Presidio section. 
By the end of the fiscal year worms had been found in all but 3 of the 28 plots. 
The moths seem to have emerged later than usual this year, and during the 
first part of June the number of worms increased rapidly, but there was a consider- 
able reduction during the latter half of the month. The State requirement that 
planting be delayed until April 15 was uniformly observed throughout the area. 
Cool weather set back the field cotton somewhat and it had just begun to bloom 
toward the close of the year, with the result that only 29 worms had been found in 
8 fields adjacent to the trap plots. 
NEW AREAS INVOLVED IX NEW MEXICO AND TEXAS 
The two counties involved in New Mexico arc adjacent to those involved in the 
newly infested area in west Texas and, as much the larger part of the cotton pro- 
duced in them is ginned in Texas, these two areas will be discussed together. The 
first worm was found on October 17, 1933, during an inspection of gin trash in 
Gaines County, Tex. This finding was followed by others in Dawson, Terry, 
Hockley, Lamb, Bailey, Cochran, and Yoakum Counties. The findings in cotton 
from Lea and Roosevelt Count ies, N. Me\., were made while the cotton was being 
ginned in Texas counties. Following the findings in gin trash a considerable 
amount of field inspection was carried on, and ;i- a result an infested held was 
located in each of the 2 New Mexico counties and in -1 of the Texas counties. 
After infestation had been found in this area, Bteps Wl re immediately taken to 
safeguard the movement of cotton products from it. It was too late in the & 
to have seed-heating machines installed. Therefore arrangements were made to 
have all the seed moved to certain designated oil mills. Seed is cooked by millers 
to improve its working qualities, and seed from dry areas is often cooked at the 
very beginning of the milling process in order to soften it. The cooking tempera- 
ture used is approximately 175* F., which is amply sullicient to kill any pink 
