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 H A. STOLLENWERCK & BROS., 
 
 FOR 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DESTBflGTION Of i CATEBPILLAR, 
 
 AWARDED TO 
 
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 J. D. HOITT, - - - Livingston, Ala, 
 
 
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 SELMA, ALA., AVGUST 14TH, 1873. 
 MR. GEO. O. BAKER, 
 
 Pres. Selma, Ala. Exposition, 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 The efforts made to destroy the caterpillar by 
 poisonous applications will, we hope, have been sufficiently tested 
 to develop some sure and effectual plan to destroy them on future 
 crops. 
 
 We think it has been fully demonstrated that arsenio.is prepara- 
 tions will destroy them. The future want of this country is the 
 best and cheapest formula, combined with the^most expeditious 
 manner to apply it, either in solution or powder, and also the right 
 time to the growing cotton. 
 
 We authorize you to offer a premium, properly inscribed, of a 
 Silver Pitcher, worth ^100, for the best essay written on this sub- 
 ject and embracing the above points, to be awarded by a committee 
 of four or five f)lanters selected by you, who have an experience 
 in the application of arsenious preparations, and who have confi- 
 decne in the practical success of the plan to give it their endorse- 
 ment. 
 
 Very respectfullv, 
 
 H. A. STOLLENWERCK & BROS. 
 
 SELMA, ALA., July 14th, 1874. 
 To the President and Directors of the Selma Exposition, 
 Dear Sirs : 
 
 We, the undersigned, appointed by you to examine the 
 essays on the destruction of the cotton worm, respectfully decide 
 that, ih our judgment, Mr. J. D. Hoyt, of Livingston, Ala., is en- 
 titled to the prize of Messrs. H. A. Stollenwerck & Bros. 
 
 Many of the essays are entitled to honorable mention, and con- 
 tain much valuable information, and we recommend that they all 
 be published. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 William W. Drane, 
 josiAH Alexander, 
 James H. Robinson. 
 
OF 
 
 Destroying the Cotton Worm, 
 
 At lasL when the knowledge is brought 
 home to us, with<ait trouble or labor on our 
 part, it has become a clear matter of fact 
 that tht! great enemy of tlie Cotton Crop — 
 the Cotton Worm '{Anomis Xylina) — can 
 easily be destroyed. And how simple are 
 the means found to be; — as nearly all triiths 
 are when understood. Fogyism will now, 
 probably, cease to laugh, as the remedy has 
 become a/ac^, and not an experiment. Yet 
 how many have, probably, been deterred 
 from experimenting in this very matter, for 
 fear of ridicule. Fulton had his scoffers, 
 
3 
 
 when first applying steam as a motive-power 
 to vessels. Bui such did not invent the En- 
 gine, the Cotton Gin, the Telegraph, the Sew- 
 ing Machine, th- Heaper and Mower. We 
 ot the South have not been an inventive peo- 
 ple in the past. Our domestic institution 
 tended not to stimulate in that line of enter 
 prise. But times and conditions have 
 changed; and we are becoming more an in- 
 vestigating and inventing people. 
 
 The question of destroying the cotton 
 worm is one of importance, from the fre- 
 quency and suddenness of the damage to 
 the crop,— amounting to $20,000,000 in a sin- 
 gle fortnight, as has been estimated; and 
 ma3^ as has been done in the past, destroy 
 nearly the whole crop. Yet, heretofore, no 
 successful mode of relief has been devised; 
 nor have our State governments offered in- 
 ducements or employed competent men to 
 seek a remedy or to investigate the obscure 
 subject of entomology as have some of the 
 other States; and to which means we are 
 much indebted for the knowledge we have 
 on this subject. 
 
 To the address of Prof. Riley of Missouri, 
 at the National Agricultural Congress at 
 
Indianapolis, are we much indebted for the 
 impulse given to the destroying of the cotton 
 worms by poison the present year. But of 
 the patent rights which have been offered to 
 the public, we cannot see much merit of 
 original discovery in the use of poisons pro- 
 posed, as substantially, the same have been 
 used- as stated in the Agricultural Reports- 
 a number of years in the Western States; to 
 destroy the Colorado potato hug. And al 
 though a certain mixture might be rightly 
 patented, that is a condition of but little im- 
 portance. 
 
 Paris Gfreen or Scheele's (jtYe^in{arsemte of 
 copper) is the certain agent for the preserva- 
 tion of the cotton crop from the ravages of the 
 cottonworms. Flour is probably the best ma- 
 terial for admixture with the poison to fix it 
 on the cotton leaves — one part of the poison 
 to twenty parts of flour has been recom- 
 mended. But, we must add, this is a dan- 
 gerous mixture and may lead to fatal acci- 
 dents. Also ashes, plaster, lime, etc., have 
 been used as much cheaper than flour— par- 
 ticularly in our cotton section. All of these 
 the writer has used, and found that a small 
 part flour will answer every purpose; — saj 
 
five pounds to twenty of plaster and one of 
 the poison, thoroughly incorporated. And 
 also all plaster {gypsum) has proved entirely 
 effectual. Lime is objectionable on account of 
 its impalpable dust rising and floating in the 
 air or wind, in the manipulation and applis 
 cation of it, and which is unpleasant and in- 
 jurious to the lungs. Ashes is also a coarse 
 'material and dusty in a wind. And we must 
 say that the land plaster is the best material, 
 on the score of economy and convenience, 
 being cheap, heavy and free of dust in the 
 handling, and very well secures the poison 
 on the rough surface of the cotton leaves. 
 Then it is generally worth its cost as a fertil- 
 izer on the land. And, on the whole, we 
 must recommend this for general use in our 
 cotton plantations, — say twenty-five to thirty 
 pounds plaster to one of the poison, well in- 
 corporated, by mixing in a box or barrel, 
 say a spoonful to the twenty-five times that 
 quantity of the plaster, and so on till enough 
 for a given area of cotton — say an acre — be 
 mixed. Then, after thoroughly stirring the 
 mass, it should be sifted through a common 
 meal sewe^ to insure thorough incorporation; 
 and this is best to be done a day or two be- 
 
6 
 
 lore using. One to two pounds of the poison 
 is enough for an acre of cotton, — depending 
 on the size of the cotton and quantity of fol- 
 iage to be dusted. 
 
 The best mode of application is with com- 
 mon meal sifters lined with muslin, and hav- 
 ing handles three or four feet long, inserted 
 through both rims of the sifters and secured. 
 With the preparation in these, a small quan- 
 tity at a time, hands of a fair intelligence, by 
 passing along, the rows, holding the seive 
 over the cotton, and gently tapping them or 
 the handles with a stick or the hand, the fol- 
 iage can be lightly dusted. And the coating 
 must be light, the least quantity of poison 
 seeming to be eifectaal; and too much injures 
 or kills the foliage — seeming to crisp it. 
 And one means of securing uniformity of ap- 
 plication can be by measuiing off each acre, 
 and then, by calculation, use a given meas- 
 ure of the preparation on each row of the 
 cotton. And these means as described when 
 used at the first appearance of the destruc- 
 tive brood of worms, we have demonstrated 
 to effectually clear the cotton of the pests 
 and keep it clear. One hand can go over 
 one acre per day, in suitable weather; bui 
 
when the wind blows it cannot be properly 
 applied. It adheres best when the leaves are 
 wet with dew. It destroys the worms by 
 their eating it with the substance of the 
 leaf. 
 
 Arsenic {arsenioits acid) is a cheaper pois- 
 on than the compound Paris Green, and is 
 nearly or quite as effectual, and is used in 
 the same way as above d-escribed. But it is 
 even a more dangerous mixture than the 
 Green, as it does not color the flour. The 
 price of this, in leading markets, has been 
 seven to eight cents per pound. While the 
 Paris Green has been about forty cents. 
 Though the short period of excitement in 
 the use of these, for the worms, was 
 made an occasion by dealers to double the 
 prices and even more. Both articles are 
 deadly poisons, in sufficient quantity, to 
 either animal or vegetable life. Paris Green 
 is composed of arsenic and bluestone, — the 
 arsenous acid being dissolved by the agency 
 of potash, in boiling water, forming ar senile 
 of potas7i\ and the bluestone, or sulphate of 
 copper^ is readily soluble in water. From 
 these elements, on being mixed, a chemical 
 union takes place, forming the Green {arse- 
 
8 
 
 nite of copper) and which is gradually pre- 
 cipitated to the bottom of the vessel. In this 
 dissolved form we have uaed it in water, — 
 about one pound of the poison in eighty or a 
 hundred gallons. And this is the best form 
 for use in water, as the Green, when in a fin- 
 ished market form, is insoluble in water, and 
 must be kept in constant agitation to pre- 
 vent settling. In either case, a common wa- 
 tering-pot is used to shower the cotton with. 
 Or a cask mounted on a cart, could be used, 
 having two or three pipes arranged to show- 
 er as many rows at once, as the cart should 
 be passed along astride of one or two rows, 
 as the width should suit. Or the solution 
 could be thrown on the cotton in the form of 
 a spray ^ by the force of steam from a boiler, 
 or by force-power from a piston connected 
 with the wheel-hubs of the cart But we 
 have found no advantage in the water mode 
 of application. And, besides, it crisps and 
 injures the cotton more than the dry powder; 
 nor is it so lasting in its effects. Yet to ob- 
 viate this objection some have recommended 
 the stirring into the eighty or a hundred gal- 
 lons of the preparation, about fiw^ pounds of 
 flour made into a paste. But in this we have 
 
9 
 
 found no advantage; and in the solution, as 
 described above, it precipitates the Green, at 
 once, to the bottom of the cask. 
 
 But, we must say, that the first mode as 
 described — the poison and land plaster mix- 
 ture — will generally be found the best, the 
 simplest and most practical mode of appli- 
 cation. And when used promptly at the first 
 appearance of the numerous and destructive 
 brood of worms, they will be destroyed and 
 the crop preserved; as myself and others 
 have fully demonstrated; and the cotton has 
 continued to form and mature till frost. 
 Whereas, cotton that is not protected, and is 
 stripped of its leaves by the worms, ceases 
 all growth or further maturity, — the leaves 
 being the elaborators^ in which the air and 
 its gases, light and heat, and the elements of 
 plant food absorbed by the roots, are brought 
 in contact, and elaborated, by Nature's chem- 
 ical laws, into the specific nourishing fluid, 
 which, passing upward and downward, adds 
 growth to the plant and its fruit. 
 
 It may be questioned whether this poison, 
 applied to cotton, becomes absorbed so as to 
 render it poisonous to stock. But if the 
 quantity is not sufficient to crisp or destroy 
 
10 
 
 tlie leaves - as it should not — it is doubtless 
 resisted hy the vegetable life; or if sparingly 
 absorbed, is again eliminated, And, from 
 th::^ surface, time and the rains, completely 
 remove it. It is stated, however, by good 
 authority, that a free application of these 
 poisons to the soil, renders it deleterious to 
 vegetable life. This condition, however, 
 could hardly be produced by the yearly ap- 
 plication for the worms. 
 
 However efficacious the application of 
 poison may be, there are many who will not 
 use it — many from indiiference, or cost of the 
 material and time necessary to apply it, and 
 many from prejudice or caution as to the use 
 of a poison. Even these need not suffer the 
 destruction of their cotton crops by the 
 worms; for this year's awakening to the sub- 
 ject, has been the means of well demon>^ 
 strating the certainty that the pests can be 
 destroyed by a little work, without poison. 
 Hand-picking and destroying the first brood, 
 which appear generally about the first or 
 middle of June, lessens the numbers of the 
 succeeding generations vastly. And from 
 trial myself, and the testimony of others, the 
 writer feels authorized to state, that young 
 
11 
 
 worms, a few days after hatching out, and 
 np to the size of half growth, cannot get up 
 on the cotton stalks again, either from unde- 
 veloped instincts, or tlie want of strength and 
 action. Then they are easily jarred, or 
 brushed off, and if exposed a short time to a 
 hot sun, on the ground, are killed. The most 
 rapid and practical mode of doing this, is to 
 drag something like a piece of cotton bag- 
 ging. ak)ng over the rows of cotton, forward 
 and back; which may be long enough to ex- 
 tend across several rows, and having short 
 lines attached to one edge, a little further 
 apart than the width of the rows, and a 
 hand at each line, and all abreast pass along 
 between the rows, and then back; when the 
 brushing and shaking of the stalks by the 
 bagging will clear the cotton mostly of the 
 worms. In this way, a set of hands can go 
 over their crop in a da}^ or two; when they 
 should return to the beginning and go over 
 again; and continue so doing as long as any 
 number of worms are found on the stalks. 
 And they will have the satisfaction of exter- 
 minating the pests and saving the crop, by a 
 few days of light labor, only. This mode 
 will doubtless be used very extensively here- 
 
12 
 
 after, when necessary. But the Boll Worm, 
 {HeUothis Armigera^ of entomologists,) has 
 been pretty numerous this year, and in some 
 fields has done more damage than the cotton 
 worm. For this there is yet no known rem- 
 edy, except by bonfires or torches, to attract 
 the moths at night, when they will fly into 
 the fire and are burned or their wing singed. 
 The torches can be carried slowly along the 
 cotton rows foi this purpose; or the fires can 
 be built around the fields, and in various 
 parts of it, on scaffolds, covered with sand 
 or clay, about as high as the top of the cot- 
 ton. These firt^s should be lighted at eve*» 
 ning twilight, as the moths are then most ac- 
 tive, and kept burning several hours, or till 
 midnight. Also a lantern-trap has been de^^ 
 vised and used for entrapping these moths, 
 with some success. And plates containing 
 molasses and vinegar or water, to attract 
 them, and in which they stick and are de- 
 stroyed, have besn used with some success. 
 This moth or millei\ has wings of a yellow- 
 ish white color, with a shade of red, and a 
 dark band across near the maigin, and with 
 dark spots near the center. The moth of the 
 cotton worm is of a dull fawn color, with a 
 
18 
 
 dak spot near the center. These hibernate 
 through the winter, in woods, old trees, logs, 
 brush, fodder houses and stacks, or wher- 
 ever they can get shelter; and in this state 
 come out in the spr'ng; and sometimes in 
 warm days of winter are out, before their fi- 
 nal exit. And this is the manner in which 
 this species is preserved and continued from 
 year to year. 
 
 The impulse given to this whole subject of 
 destroying these pests, of our cotton crops, is 
 fortunate; and it is to be hoped that the next 
 year there will be such a general and con- 
 cert of action among our planters, in one or 
 the other feasible modes, demonstrated, that 
 this costly and valuable crop shall be effec- 
 tually preserved from these ravages. 
 
 J. D. HOYT 
 
 Livingston, Ala. 
 
H. A. STOLLENWERCK & BROS., 
 F. E. ST0LLENV7ERCE ^ BROS., 
 
 3m:o::oxij:e2, 
 
 ^^i 
 
 Commission Mercliants, 
 
 fH are Agents for SCHOE^IELD & SONS 
 "PATENT COTTON PRESSES AND 
 GIN GEARING," Also for "DUBOIS 
 GIN." We can confidently recommend 
 them as the best in use, and will guarantee 
 perfect satisfaction. The Horse Power can 
 be run with Two Mules, with as much ease 
 as the Old Fashion witli Six. 
 
 They can be seen by calling at our office, 
 in Selma. Send in your orders early, so as 
 to prevent delay. 
 
i 
 
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