University of South Carolina Libraries
THE BOLL WEEVIL. The Ways of the Pest That Ravages The South's Great Staple Crop. A name which has recently grown to be considered a synonym for dis aster is that of the cotton boll weevil. So fearsome has this tiny insect be come that it theatens the stability of one of America's greatest industries and presages a commercial revolution. If the inroads of the pest that has marched steadily onward from the fields of Old Mexico by stages into Louisiana and Texas are not soon checked the name. "King Cotton," will have passed from American own ership and the supremacy of this coun try in the cotton markets of the world have become but the bitter memory or a growing nation vanquished by an insect less than a quarter of an inch in! length. This little beast. says The Wash ington Star. has devoured millions of dollars' worth of cotton during the past few years. and all the energies of the cotton growers. assisted by the arm -Af! science, have thus far utterly failed to find a remedy which will drive the pests from the country. Driven to the point of desperation by; their growing losses, the cotton grow ers sought the aid of the Department of Agriculture, and from there went; to the Congress of the United States. The first named branch of the gov ernment service sent its experts and entomologists into the' pest ridden fields, and the result was reported to Congress. That body at last took ac tion and appropriated S2o.ooo to be -used in experiments looking toward the examination of the unwelcomed interloper. To the average reader of the inten tions of the great department of the government that devotes its energies for the benefit of the farmers of the -country- the name boll weevil signifies ittie. M-.ny of these readers do not know whether this means an insect. a bird or a disease. They simply be lieve that there must be something pe culiarly obnoxious about the monster. whatever his family history may be, Abat calls for such drastic action on' :the part of the whole people or ad -mit the defeat of a great national en -.terprise at the hands of an unknown -_-enemy. The boll weevil is a beetle. varying in le-gth from three-sixteenths to three-eights of an inch. He-is born hungry and with an hereditary appe tite for cotton bolls only that would drive despair to the heart of the most cheerful agriculturist. In a single night one of the baby weev;is will eat .an amount of young cott n boli. or the tenderst parts. that if pernitted -to :reach maturity, would make a bale. weighing twenty-seven million times his own weighit. He is not an insect of the highest order of intelligence. and. when lie diies with his rather t:n developed wvigs doesC so in an aim less manner and in a straight line. alighting on any other plant that his legs happen to touch !irst. One ot the prox isions of nature that has been noted in this pest is that he grows ac cording to the food he has had dur ing his continement in the larva of this mother. lack of food never injur .ing hinm in the least beyond a retard ing of his growth entirely dispro por tionate to his appetite. A halt sized *weevil will eat quite as much as i larger brother. or at least wixll destroy .as much cotton, for they all select the tender "squares." or uindev eloped tolls, and never descend to the ma ture bo i> unless driven to the course by desperate straits for food. A newly born weevil is whitish in -.color, growing to chocolate with age, while some even are almost black, this difference making it almost im 'posible for the average agriculturist to properly classify their various neighbors of the insect wvorld when they marage to get them in custody for that purpose. The active fedling period of the adult weevils is during the day. At night they travel and rly but very little. During the vir>,roua growing season of cotton the weevils . move from plant to plant by short, s3luggish :lights. They wander to the 'top of a plant and hop off imou the air. dropping do.wn on the first cotton boll they hit. They' feed for the most part by getting up among the develop ing leaf buds between the seed leaves, ir.to which they ea:, just as they do the y.).g squares later. In spring. beize the squares form on the cot ton plants, they often eat small holes into the tender growing' portions of .h ants, e thu -mling or stunting .r making them unit for the pro duction of the cotton of commerce. They do not bore holes in the plants thev attack. but eat into them. The end of the snout of the weevil is pro vided with small, claw-like jaws. with which it actually eats a hole, rather than bores it. as is the popular notion. When preparing to feed on any ex posed portions of the plant the weevil nearly always uses its sharp mandibles at the end of the snout to rasp the outer bark. so as to enable it to get hold of the ragged ends, which it then deliberately pulls off and lays to one side. it then eats the tender portions beneath, a process which may be com pared to the peeling of an apple be fore eating it. They are not at a loss fir food if all the young squares are gone. for the fullgrown boll is by no means despised by them when they feel the need of food. It is practical ly certain that this variety of weevil will not eat anything but cotton, but for that plant its appetite is abnormal. When ready to deposit an egg the female weevil eats the customary hole into a square, form or boll. as the same thing is called at the different stages of its development. and hollows it out somewhat larger at the inner end to fit the egg. She then tzrns round. protrudes her evipositc.r. or egg guide. into this hole and lays the egg. She then seals the hole with a drop of glue and goes about her busi ness. This sealing process prevents the entrance of any insect and ex chudes the -rain and dew. In two or three days the weevil grub is hatch vd. and at once opens up his campaign by eating everything in his reach. Only one egg is ever p-:rposely laid in a square. Observations thus far made by the scientists of the Depart ment of Agrici:lture are not yet con clusive. but ;t is generally believed that a di,tinct hibernating brood is produced later in the season in those sections where frost kills the cotton. Early in the spring. when the weevil come from their winter quarters. they are voracious eaters. and feed readily Tn any young cottin they can find. As soon as cold weather begius the aduth weevils seek winter quarters. crawling into cracks of fences, under the barks of trees and in the cotton gins, among trash. in fact, everywhere and any where that they can find a comforta ble place in which to pass the time until the new crop is ready for their appetites. From early spring until fall they are busy at their nefarious work. and keel the cotton grower in a state of perennial anxiety over his crop. Up to this time it has been found that frost is the'most efficacious agent that could be used against them, but this is wholly unfeasible, and the ex periments of the Department of Agri culture with the $25o,ooo that have been placed at its .disposal by Con gress wvill be along lines that are pius sible of ci mnintuing when once the right agent is found. They are gra.i ually spreading uver the ci umnry, the high wind:- that recently v'isited the lo wer cotto n belt iof the so uth ws' being responsie f 'r si m;e uf ,the m:i gration, their uwn efffiris acchnt2:t fr the rest. Fire is the agent that vp to this time has been found mist cf fective. It is utilized by consumi:, the affected sunares as they fall from~i the plant. thus destri ying all of th: generation . f weevils and fortifying the grower against the :uroads ni a new one in the spring. It is by co operation with the farmers of Texas and Louisiana that the department hpes to win the fight against the pest. and if even partial success attends their efforts the quarter of a million dollars will have been well expended. and they can with safety call on the treaurv of the United States for any thin-g additional that may be reqluired toi c' miplete their work. RETURNED TO LIFE. Resurrected Man Tells of the Happi n,ss of Heaven. The days of n*racles are nlot pas ed, according to those H-miliar v:i the death and return to life of Ulyse'! S. Roberts. a cigarmaker and ni::i can. l1e hadl been atTicted with con upti'.n i,.r n:early a y'ear. .-ay arrisburg. li!. special to the Phil adelphia Ree rd. Two weeks ago i condi(in bc'amie wo'rse, and a e days later he called his wvife and to: hem good-bye, told them of the far: approaching end. In the presence o the family, his pastor, Rev. A. S. Maxey, of the First Methodist Epis copa chrch,of his ity Attrne R. S. Marsh. his family physician and number of relatives, he died. An un dertakes was called. Twelve hours had elapsed since the spirit had left the body, when suddenly the figure lying on -.he cot smiled and opened its eyes. Mr. Roberts then spoke and asked them how long he had been gone, and, when told, he said: "That's strange; it seems to me I have been gone 1.ooo years. I have been in heaven and I have been hap py." He told of his meeting his father, who had long preceded him and other relatives and friends. Many ques tions were asked by the pastor, Rev. A. S. Maxey. concerning heaven and. the description given by him was wonderful. Bit." said he. "I have just seven; days to remain on earth when I will leave you until we meet up yonder." When asked by Rev. 'Maxey as to how Jesus appeared he said he was m t ahvays happy. except at tines when he beheld thi earth :teeped in sii. R, bert- expres:e( a de-ire to re wrn i, neavn. an(! r:e z.. his pred'A Z;.m.n Ihe sieveh:1 dlay. a:ni at the verv htur n4ued lie a dai ctlie. Best Reredy For Constipation. "Thle : remiedy I- 'r e ! n pat:* I ever used iS Chamberlain'- St-mach and Liver Tablets." says Mr. 1-'.li I),t ler of Frankville N. Y. "They act gently and witrnout any unpleasant effect. and leave the bowels in a per fectlv natural conditi(,n." S-ld by Smith Drug Co.. Newberry and Pr11 perity Drug Co., Prosperity. $S7501 THE ATLI Creat New Offe United States I to May Contest Opened Ja DI For the exact, or the nearest to of Cotton received at all Unit Ist, 1904, both inclusive. For the next nearest estimate-. For the next nearest estimate.... For the 5 next nearest estimate, For the I 0 next nearest estimate For the 20 next nearest estimate For the 50 next nearest estimate For the 100 next nearest estimat( Additional Offers for Besi Made During Different of the Contest. For convenience the time of the col test is divided into estimates receive by The Constitution during four p riods-the first period covering froi the beginning of contest to Februar 10, 1904; second period, from Febr1 ary 10 to March 1, 1904; thIrd perios March 1 to 20; fourth period, Marc 20 to April 20, 1904. We will gis the best estimate received durir each period (in addition to whatevi other prize it may take, or if it tall no prize at all), the sum of $125.00. The tour 'prizes thus ofrered a $125.00 each amount to-. Conditions of Sendini Subject to the usual condi bs now on. Attention is called tc 1. Send $1.00 for The Week ,2. Send 50 cents for The 3. Send $1.25 for The We TIMATES in the contest-that is, 4. Send 50 cents for ONE SCRIPTIOn'. Such a remi_ttance make a number of estimates on warded at the same time estimat without subscriptions, the sender fered for only ten estimates in one CEIVED WITHOUT SUBSCRIPT PER ITSELF IS AN ACKNOWL CAREFULLY RECORDED. 5. The money and the subs The estimate, the money and the Secretary Hester's F fr COTTON SEASON. 0 1897-98---------.--.. ----. - 898-99--------------- -. 1899-00----. 1900-01-.--------------. 1901-02---.----.----.-. 1902-03. The figures above are certified by S furnish the oflicial figures to decidet Address All Orders to Why Use Many Words to Ten You That The Best * FERTILIZERS On Earth ARADE BY The Virginia-Carolina s Chemical Co. They have the Best Facilities, use the Best Materals, and maintain the highest reputation for the evenhess and value of their Ftftlr. Me Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co. CHARLESTON, S. C. WhisJCey I Morphine - C*garette _ _ All Cr g and Tobacco Habit, - Habit Iabit. . HabIts Cured by Keeley Institute of South Carolina j-'29 L.dy St. Pt. Co. Box 7. C0!.ro;a, S. C. Conti,!-rnt-al -01--;~: .6eik~ l ted, DCashC.onlest iNTA CONSTITUTION'S r Upon Receipts of Cotton at All Ports From September Ist, 1903, st, 1904, Both Incusive. n. 18th, 1904, Closes April 20th, 1904. VISION OF PRIZES. the exact, estimate of the total number of Bales ad States ports from September I st, 1903, to May ........... ........................................$8 2.500-00 . ........................................ ... ...---- - 1-000.00 $25.00 each .----------.-------.................-12--00 is, 12.50 each- - - -- --................ 125.00 9, 10.00 each --..................................... 20000 , 5.00 each -----..................................... 250P is 3.00 each.....i.....................................___00._____ S5,000.00 4 500baleseithe way f th0e.ac figre................$1,00.00 PerlOsFSc-n-For distribution' among I those estimates (not taking any of the above 188 prizes con notshain 500 bathes eith0rbalesoeither exact ofteeatfigures...... .. .....---..,000.00 it in seoF aitrtieon an prz ,simt h ~~ Estihoteseitimhiss (ot Reeingtan ontst thflowngsgmr th conditionsoltofe)cm ly Cnstiuti ngya n withit 1,00baEs EiTE inteaytet Sun- ot one yera wthe xa t Ogur ES...... .. the ,o00.00 ekJy Constitutfi tieon anSuny Sotpoh n ern sedTWmat E Estimates inr The osituis n antePortRe esun oth.t EosTA asledeua in the c onstItuio eacU DO eek, WANT conSt tereypy forin pumrivly of ending siae I o iht i Constis,io yone myseand TH E MAESTMATE EVER $1.0 os. may fowrth oemya with i plndSiMAT diont thein cofs ordr.y ostaio card receip South boneyran sentd ETWOTES R IONS estmae subrpTeionstitutonderd ather frA The THnn South EDis N THAT,yo myOUndR EIEMATE S EENRECEVEY AN.0 Ior cription and the estimate must come in the same envelope every time. subscription go together. THIS RULE IS POSITIVE. igures Covering the Period of the Contest. TOTAL PORT RECEIPTS. BAL.ES IN COTTON CROP. foloigyar The period cove:ed byti not th. j'1O thb pr. t Cot t Is intes. given only as a:, additional aid to an intelli gent estimnates. ..... 8,333,862-..--. ---... ---... ----------------------- 1 , 199,994 . 934 ...................7,9 ,5.----------------.----------- ,274,840 ..-. 6,843,134------ .-.--.- ----. -------------------- 10,383,422 -.... 6,346,312--. . . . ..--------. .-------------------- 9,436,416 ..... 7 218,179.------------- ..---------. --------------- 10,680,680 .-. 7. 37 .627..-.---------------------------. ------.. .. 10,727,559 ecretary Henry G. Hester, of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange, who will his contest. m=H- ATLNT A CONSTITUTION.. Atlanta. Ca.