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By Manford Eugene Jones
A thesis submitted
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Arts in History.
University of New
Mexico, 1939
Texas
A&M University History Professor Dale Baum purchased a copy of this
thesis from the university's library and contributed it to this
site. It is used with permission of Manford
Allen Jones, son of the author Manford Eugene Jones. These
electronic pages may not be reproduced in any
format by other organizations or individuals. Persons or organizations
desiring to use this material must obtain
the written consent of Manford Allen Jones or contact
Jane
Keppler, Robertson
County TXGenWeb coordinator.
CHAPTER 7: WEED & INSECT
ENEMIES & THEIR CONTROL
Anyone
who is familiar with farm problems knows that weeds constitute one of
the greatest troubles of all the array of troubles that beset farmers.[32]
According
to Tomlinson, the worst weed pest on the Brazos is nut grass.
This grass made its appearance along the middle Brazos immediately
after the June flood of 1899. Exactly where it came from no one
knows, but Tomlinson's theory is that it was washed down from the City
of Waco where some citizens had used it as a lawn covering.
It is
almost impossible to kill nut grass because of the fact that the seed
is so well protected by the nut or shell. The salamander or
gopher that lives in sandy soil along the edge of the Bottom stores the
seed of the nut grass and thus helps to spread it. This grass
absorbs moisture from the cotton plant. About the only good point
for nut grass is that hogs will sometimes fatten on the seed.
Next in
importance as the plant pest is Johnson grass. This grass was
brought to Marlin by Judge Kimes in 1884. It was planted in the
Bottom for several years before farmers realized it was a menace unless
properly controlled. Johnson grass makes excellent grazing for
cattle and good feed when out and dried. Therefore, it does serve
some useful purposes, but if it gets started on cotton land Herculean
efforts are needed to dislodge it. This grass spreads by its root
system as well as by the seed. Within the last twenty-five years,
thousands of acres of the best bottom land along the Brazos have been
abandoned to Johnson grass. Most of this land was worked by
tenants who made no particular effort to check its growth, and the
landowner in most cases had no extra money to hire laborers to keep it
down.
Johnson
grass can be controlled by repeated plowing, done now by tractors, by
repeated hoeing in hot weather, and by digging up the plant and
exposing the roots. Plowing the land while it is wet is also
supposed to rot the roots of this plant.
Other
weeds and grasses that give more or less trouble in wet years are the
cocklebur, Colorado grass, "careless weed," and Bermuda grass.
The only
disease to affect the bottom cotton to any large extent has been Texas
root rot, which is discussed in the following quotation.
"The
disease had not been found east of Texas. In Texas alone, the
loss in 1906 was estimated at three million dollars."
"The
general characteristics of the disease are as follows: the first
indication is the sudden wilting of a single plant, or a number of
them; this is apt to occur in May or June. During the last of
June or the the first of July, a large number of wilted plants may be
seen, later forming irregular dead patches. The plants wilt most
frequently on hot days following rain. Continuous dry weather
tends to hold the disease in check."
"If the
roots of dead cotton stalks or of those wilting are examined, brown
threads of fungus will be found closely surrounding the tap root and
some of the lateral roots. Small wart-like bodies, or sclerotia,
are found in numerous places on the tap root and lateral roots.
The roots shrink and decay. The fungus Mycelium in younger stages
is white, and may be found on roots of plants that appear healthy."
"Since
this is a soil-borne disease, great precaution must be used to prevent
the transference of inoculated soil to disease-free areas. Soil
is often transferred to carry legume inoculation, and this practice may
serve to spread the disease."
"Deep
fall plowing and the use of immune crops, such as grains, two years in
succession in a three-year rotation is the only control measure
advised."[33]
Cotton
farmers in the Bottom are often bothered by the cotton plant shedding
its bolls and squares because of weather conditions. If there is
a rainy season, the plant grows rapidly and puts on much "fruit."
If the weather then turns hot and dry, the plant cannot mature the
"fruit" it has started, and thus the shedding process takes much from
the yield.
The
next quotation describes the Bottom farmers' worst insect enemy.
"Enemy
#1 among cotton insects if the notorious boll weevil. Making its
first appearance on the pages of American cotton history in 1862 near
Monclova, Mexico, it forded the Rio Grande River in the vicinity of
Brownsville, Texas, in 1892. Thirty years later, it had swept the
Cotton Belt except West Texas and brought about a revolution in the
cotton industry of the South."
"New
varieties, changed cultural methods, and poison application, have been
used to combat the weevil. It was in 1918 that Coad showed beyond
doubt that the weevil could be effectively controlled in the field by
dusting with calcium arsenate and within five years from that date
effective dusting machinery had been developed."[34]
The
boll weevil made its appearance on the Central Brazos in 1899. In
the first few years following 1900, the weevil damage was so great that
many cotton farms in the Bottom were abandoned, since there seemed no
way of combating the insect. On farm of twenty-five hundred acres
near Calvert, Texas, was abandoned for five years during this
period. Of course, the methods mentioned in the preceding
paragraph soon brought relief, but there was almost a total loss of the
crop in 1919, and there is some infestation each year. Brown has
the following information on the boll weevil.
"The
adult boll weevil is a small grayish or brownish weevil, and 1/4 inch
in length varying from 1/8 to 1/3 inch with a breadth 1/3 of the
length. The size varies considerably, being determined by the
amount of food supplied the developing larvae. Weevils that
develop in bolls where food is abundant, are considerably larger than
ones that grow in squares. The color is largely dependent on the
age of the weevil; newly hatched ones are yellowish brown, while old
ones become grayish and dark. Anyone who has seen boll weevils
will have but little trouble in identifying them. In a cotton
field, the presence of weevils is indicated by the flaring of the
bracts of cotton squares and by an excessive amount of square
shedding. If the squares, when cut open, are found to contain a
white, curved grub that had eaten out the inside of the flower bud,
there is not much doubt that boll weevils are present."
"The
boll weevil passes through the winter, or hibernates, in the adult or
winged stage. Egg laying does not begin until cotton squares have
formed. Eggs are deposited in small pits or openings which the
female makes with her snout. They are usually placed near the
base of the flower bud and inside the corolla."
"The
egg, under normal conditions, hatches in about three days, and the
larvae, or young grub, begins to feed on the plant substance about
it. It reaches maturity in about 7 to 12 days. Its
development is dependent on weather conditions; cool weather retards
growth, while hot, dry weather may kill it. The mature larvae is
white with brownish markings, curved, and about 1/2 inch in
length. The mature larvae changes into a pupa, a form
corresponding to the chrysalis of the butterfly or the cocoon of the
moth. The pupa is inactive, eats nothing, and remains within the
square or boll. After 3 to 5 days, an adult weevil hatches from
the pupa. The young adult begins to produce a new generation in
from 5 to 7 days after emergence. The condition of the weather
has an important bearing on the length of time required for a boll
weevil to pass through its life cycle. The time required varies
from 2 to 4 weeks or longer, being longer during cool weather or
towards the end of the season. Warm weather favors rapid
development, but hot, dry weather increases mortality greatly."
"The
length of time that the mature weevils live varies with the season of
the year. In the summer, most weevils do not live longer than 50
days. During the cooler part of the year, many live as long as 6
months, and one is known to have lived from December to the following
October - 11 months."
"The
favorite food of the boll weevil is pollen in the unopened flower bud
of the cotton plant. This it obtains by making a number of
punctures through the corolla of the unopened flower. The upper
part of the bud may show a dozen or more punctures with loose pollen
scattered around them. Weevils that appear in fields before
squares have formed attack the young leaf buds to some extent, and, in
the latter part of the season, after un-punctured squares have become
scarce, they attack young bolls. Even bolls of full size, but
with tender walls, may be punctured."
"Both
the adult weevil and the larvae damage cotton plants. The adults
feeds on young leaf buds, and punctures both squares and young bolls
for feeding and egg-laying. The larvae feed on the inside of
squares and bolls. The squares are shed or fail to develop
flowers. Young bolls are commonly shed, while older ones have on
or more locks ruined. Some locks that open have the lint so
stained or damaged that the grade of the whole lot of lint cotton is
lowered."
"The
damage done by boll weevils varies greatly due to weather conditions
and other unexplainable reasons."
"The
boll weevil, after landing in a cotton field, shows but little
disposition to leave if squares are plentiful. It flies for short
distances, but is not apt to fly to another field until the seasonal
migration period in August, unless foot becomes scarce. When the
migration period comes on, it instinctively takes to wing and by a
series of short flights may travel a hundred miles or more. The
movement is generally in the direction of the prevailing wind, but it
may be in any direction. In the fall, beginning about the time of
the first frost, there is also a movement to hibernating
quarters. In the spring, there is a movement from the hibernating
quarters back to the cotton fields."
"By
'hibernation' is meant the act of passing through the winter period in
a dormant, or quiescent, state. With the coming of cool weather
in the fall of the year, boll weevils begin to seek shelter. Many
enter cracks in the ground or hide under grass, weeds, or other trash
in cotton fields. Others fly to fence rows, grassy ditch banks,
or the woods, for shelter. The bunches of Spanish moss hanging
from limbs of trees so abundantly in section of the cotton states
afford splendid winter quarters. Most weevils that attempt to
pass the winter in the cotton fields fail to survive. Apparently,
woods, Negro cabins, or hay stacks afford the safest places, for
infestation in cotton fields early in the season is usually heaviest
near such places."[35]
Farmers
of the central Brazos have spent many thousands of dollars in the fight
against the boll weevil, and the methods used are discussed in the
following paragraphs.
"The
farmer is aided in his fight against the weevil by a number of
important natural factors which tend to reduce the possible weevil
damage: (1) the weevil is practically dependent on cotton for
reproduction; (2) the mortality of the weevil during the winter is very
high; (3) hot, dry weather during the summer exercises a tremendous
control upon the weevil stages, while moist, cloudy weather, removes
the control and greatly accelerates multiplication; (4) the weevil is
attacked by many different species of insect enemies; (5) the emergence
from hibernation quarters during the spring is slow and prolonged until
well into the summer; (6) early in the season, on account of
comparatively lower temperature, the development of the weevil is much
slower than during the mid-summer months; (7) the cotton plant produces
many more squares than it can carry to maturity as bolls. This
surplus is shed by the plant throughout the season. Under normal
conditions, about 60 percent of the fruit being shed; (8) up to a
certain point, weevil puncturing of fruit does not reduce the cotton
crop, because large numbers of forms would be shed normally; and (9)
the weevil has a decided tendency to seek moisture wherever it may be
found on the surface of the plant."[36]
Calcium
arsenate is the poison employed for weevils. It is dusted on in a
dry form when the dew is on the cotton so that the poison will stick to
the plant. Most planters use a cart machine, a two-wheel machine
which straddles a row of cotton. It has three nozzles and will
cover twenty-five to thirty acres of cotton a night. About five
to seven pounds of poison are used an acre for each application.
It takes three or four applications at frequent intervals to kill most
of the weevils.
Brown
names other methods of control.
"Some
other methods of weevil control are: (1) fall destruction of infested
plants; (2) grazing; (3) destruction of weevils in hibernations; (4)
locating fields to avoid weevil damage; (5) producing an early crop of
cotton; (6) early removal of plants and preparation of land; (7) use of
the early varieties of cotton; and (8) early planting."[37]
Next to
the boll weevil in importance as a cotton destroyer is the cotton worm
or cotton caterpillar. These worms were numerous on the Brazos
many years before the weevil came, but only in recent years have they
caused extensive damage. The following statement gives
information on the caterpillar.
"The egg
of the caterpillar is bluish green in color and of a different shade
from that of the leaf, so that it can be rather readily
distinguished. It is found usually on the underside of the leaves
and as a general thing toward the top of the plant. In the
neighborhood of 500 eggs are laid by each female, sometimes several
upon each leaf, but never in clusters."
"After
hatching from the egg, the young larvae feeds at first upon the
underside of the leaf, devouring simply the lower parenchyma and not
piercing through to the upper side under after the first molt.
Although the normal food of the caterpillar is the leaves, it will
frequently gnaw the tender twigs and will even damage the bolls by
eating into them in spots. In spite of its comparatively small
size and slender form, the larvae is, in fact, very voracious, and when
occurring in number, the ruin which it accomplishes is complete."
"To go
into the pupa state, the caterpillar spins a light silken web, usually
within a folded leaf. Its color is at first green, but in the
course of an hour or so, it changes to brown. The insect remains
in this condition for a period varying from one week to thirty days."
"The
perfect insect of the cotton caterpillar is a rather small moth of an
olive-gray color, sometimes with a somewhat purplish luster."[38]
The
first defense used against the caterpillar was the placing of lights in
pans of water on top of posts to attract the moths. This did not
catch enough of the moths and was discontinued. At the present
time, Paris Oreen is used in a spray form and is put on the plant by a
machine similar to the one used in dusting for boll weevils. The
spray can be used during the day. Before these machines were
devised, poison was dusted from sacks on the end of a pole carried
across a mule's back.
The
cotton boll worm helped the weevil to destroy the Bottom cotton crop in
1919, but its damage has been less than that of the first two enemies
named. The boll worm works as follows:
"The
cotton boll worm destroys cotton squares and bolls by eating their
interior. In some localities, especially in Texas, the damage
done is considerable."
"Eggs
are laid on leaves. After hatching, the young larvae feeds on the
surface of the leaves for a short time and then enters a square or
boll. After destroying the contents, it seeks another, so
continuing until several have been ruined. When full grown, it
enters the ground to pupate. A moth hatches from the pupa in
about two weeks. This insect passes the winter as a pupa in the
soil. It is poisoned in the same manner as was given for the
cotton leaf worm."[39]
The
latest insect to damage cotton in this region has been the cotton
hopper or cotton flew. It is a small green bug whose life history
and habits have not been worked out completely. This insect
causes the plant to be poorly developed and to shed most of its squares
and bolls. It also attacks very young cotton and stops its growth.
The
only effective remedy found for the flea is finely ground sulphur that
is blown on the cotton with a dusting machine. Most farmers use
fifteen pounds an acre and go over the cotton three or four times.
The
most recent method used in dusting poison on cotton plants for
controlling various insects is by airplane. This costs about one
dollar an acre, which is higher than the cost of other methods, but it
has certain advantages. The work is done quickly, and rainy
weather causing muddy fields does not stop the poisoning. The
place flies just above the stalks and blows the poison on with such
force that it actually penetrates the leaves and thus stays on
better. This method has been used by some of the largest
plantations near Calvert and Hearne, but it is largely in the
experimental stage because of its high cost. There is some
probability that in the future, it might be used on a community or
cooperative basis.
A great
many Bottom farmers begin dusting their cotton early in the season,
even though no insects are in evidence, as insurance against possible
damage later. If they wait to begin until damage is evident, then
more poison is necessary, besides the loss already incurred from the
insects. When the caterpillar is allowed to run unchecked, all
the plant is devoured except the mature bolls and the stalk, and the
fields present a very ragged and bedraggled appearance. If the
caterpillars do not begin hatching until the middle of August, then
some cotton will mbe made, even though no poison is used, as most of
the bolls are matured at that time. However, they usually hatch
out much earlier, especially if the season is a wet one and the cotton
makes a large stalk. A caterpillar infested field has a typically
musty odor. When the weevil and boll worm are present alone, the
cotton plant looks normal from a distance, but close examination shows
a lack of bolls.
The
success with which cotton insects are now controlled is a tribute not
only to the courage and resourcefulness of the farm, but also to the
patience and untiring efforts of entomologists in the United States
Department of Agriculture and in the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical
College at College Station, Texas.
[32] Much
information concerning weed pests in the Brazos bottom was secured from
A. P. Tomlinson, who lives at Tomlinson Hill on the west side of the
river near Marlin, Texas. Mr. Tomlinson's grandfather, James K.
Tomlinson, came to this hill from Evergreen, Alabama, in 1858.
His father, James E. Tomlinson, also lived at Tomlinson Hill; so his
information on conditions along the river since early times may be
accepted as fairly accurate.
[33] H. B. Brown, Cotton, pp. 285 - 286.
[34] Eugene Butler "Fifty Years Of Cotton Growing,"
Progressive Farmer (February, 1936), pp. 8. 57.
[35] H. B. Brown, Cotton, pp. 294 - 298.
[36] Ibid., p. 300.
[37] Ibid., pp. 302 - 305.
[38] L. O. Leonard, The Cotton Plant (Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1896), pp. 320-322.
[39] H. B. Brown, Cotton, pp. 315-317.
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