there is often one for every
boll in the field.

[Illustration: FIG. 175. THE LARVA OF THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL
INJURING A SQUARE]

This weevil is proving very hard to destroy. At present there seem but
few ways to fight it. One is to grow cotton that will mature too early
for the weevils to do it much harm. A second is to kill as many weevils
as possible by burning the homes that shelter them in winter.

[Illustration: FIG. 176. PUPA OF COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL FROM ABOVE AND BELOW
Greatly enlarged]

[Illustration: FIG. 177. THE PUPA OF THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL IN A SQUARE]

The places best adapted for a winter home for the weevil are trash
piles, rubbish, driftwood, rotten wood, weeds, moss on trees, etc. A
further help, therefore, in destroying the weevil is to cut down and
burn all cotton-stalks as soon as the cotton is harvested.

[Illustration: FIG. 178. A COTTON BOLL WITH FEEDING-HOLES OF WEEVIL,
AND BEARING THREE SPECIMENS OF THE INSECT]

[Illustration: FIG. 179. THE MEXICAN COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL,
SHOWING STRUCTURE]

This destroys countless numbers of larvae and pupae in the bolls and
greatly reduces the number of weevils. In addition, all cornstalks, all
trash, all large clumps of grass in neighboring fields, should be
burned, so as to destroy these winter homes of the weevil. Also avoid
planting cotton near trees. The bark, moss, and fallen leaves of the
tree furnish a winter shelter for the weevils.

[Illustration: FIG. 180. A SERIES OF FULL GROWN WEEVILS, SHOWING
VARIATIONS IN SIZE]

A third help in destroying the weevil is to rotate crops. If cotton does
not follow cotton, the weevil has nothing on which to feed the second
year.

[Illustration: FIG. 181. MAP SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF THE COTTON-BOLL
WEEVIL IN 1913]

In adopting the first method mentioned the cotton growers have found
that by the careful selection of seed, by early planting, by a free use
of fertilizers containing phosphoric acid, and by frequent plowing, they
can mature a crop about thirty days earlier than they usually do. In
this way a good crop can be harvested before the weevils are ready to be
most destructive.

CHAPTER VIII

FARM CROPS

Every crop of the farm has been changed and improved in many ways since
its forefathers were wild plants. Those plants that best serve the needs
of the farmer and of farm animals have undergone the most changes and
have received also the greatest care and attention in their production
an