Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/571

* COTTON-INSECTS. 487 COTTONSEED AND .ITS PRODUCTS. In!>onie districts there are as many as seven sap from the bolls by its puncture, causing them generations in a season. The average time from to become diminutive or abortive: but the prin- the egg of one generation to that of the next is a cipal injiirv it docs is hy voiding an excrenicnti- month. tious liquid which stains the cotton fil>rc yellow THE COTTON-BOLL WOBM. 1. Adult moth {Heliothis armigera). 2. Destructive larva (the "hoU-n-orm' or 'bud-worm'), with a Rmall boll pierced b.v a ydung caterpillar. 3. Vertical section of a iiewl.v expanded cotton-flower, showing a .vonng boll-worm at work. i. Section of a large green boll, which contains a caterpillar that has devoured the contents of the cell. 5. A. pupa within its earthen case, or reddish, and very much depreciates its value in the market, the stains being indelible." It is also troublesome to orange-growers in cotton- growing districts. See Insect I-i'fe, vol. i. (Washington, 18S8), illustrated. Several plant- bugs, such as the capsid (I'saUus delicatus), known in Texas as the cotton-llca. and certain small beetles, are also injurious to cotton. For a description of the weevil, see Weevil. The natural enemies of the cotton-worm and of the boll-worm are domestic fowls, birds, spi- ders, beetles, wasps, ants, parasites, etc. As pre- ventive measures, the free use of poisons is good for both, and fall jdowing. which upturns the chrysalids of the boll-worm, exposes these to the attacks of fowls and the fatal influences of cold. second in its evil It is hatched from all parts of the The caterpillars visit earliest low alluvial lands where the plants are luxurious and thrifty. ^Moisture is favorable to their development, hot, dry weather unfavorable. The damages to the crop may reach 2.5 per cent, in the southern dis- tricts; but in the northern the worms may do more good than harm, by removing superabun- <lant leaves, thus facilitating the ripening of the bolls. For further and extensive information, and preventive measures, consult: Comstock, "Re- port on Cotton Insects," in U. <S', Dc/it. of Agri- fiilfure (A'ashington. 1879), illustrated; Eiley, U. S. Entomological Commission, Jfth Report (Washington, 1885); Bulletin No. IS, New Series (Washington, 1898). The bud-worm is scarcely eff'ects. (See Boll-Worm.) eggs deposited singly on plant, taking only three to five days to hatch in summer. The worm is much like the cotton- caterpillar, but larger. Its principal food is the flowers and bolls. The chrysalis is found a few- inches underground. The chrysalis state lasts seven to ten days in midsummer, double that in cooler weather. The moth is in appearance and habits much like the Aletia, but seldom appears before .July or August. Hibernation is in the clirv^alis state only, and underground. Breeding continues until cold weather; but the first three generations of each year generally feed in the coriiHelds, the first lot seen on cotton being the fourlli brood. Other injurious moths infesting cotton and eating the foliage include the yellow bear llipilo- (■omn Virginico.), the io (fiattirnia lo), the bas- ket-worm or bag- worm (q.v. ), and several others. Cotton-culture in Egypt is afflicted by two very similar insects, viz., Prodenia littoralis and Ea- rias insulana. The cotton-stainer, or redbug (Dnsdri'cus siiitu- rcllus), is a small suctorial bug, "which drains the COTTON-MOTJSE. A field-mouse {Pcromt/s- cus 'jossiiiiiiius) , dark brown, with grayish feet, prevalent in the southern United States, and in- jurious to cotton-plants. Its habits are similar to those of the common white-footed mouse of the Korth. See JIouse. COTTONMOUTE (so named from the white, cotton-like streak about its mouth). Projierly. the moccasin-snake (q.v.), but also a name in the southern United States of the copperhead. COTTONSEED AND ITS PRODUCTS. Cut- tonsred-Oil. — Cotton, which is described in the article bearing that title, when it is picked consists of the seeds, and the lint or fibre adher- in.g to and covering the seeds. The seeds con- stitute rather more than two-thirds of this ]iroduct, so that a crop of 9,000.000 b.ales of cotton would yield about 4,.500.000 tons of cot- ton-seed. It constitutes a very valuable part of the product, and is used for manufactur- ing cottonseed-oil, for feeding animals, and for fertilizer. The cottonseed, after the removal of the fibre, yields, upon pressure, a large amount of yellow oil, with a bland, nut-like taste. Even