e soil back against the plants. Then begins the farmer's
fight against the weeds, each of which seems sturdier and harder to
eradicate than its predecessor. Usually cultivation must take place about
every three weeks.

In June, on the average, the bell-shaped blossoms appear. On the first
day they are cream colored or white; on the second day, they change to a
beautiful wild-rose pink, deepening toward evening to a deeper magenta or
carnation. On the third day they fade completely, and the development of
the boll begins.

The Many Enemies
of the Growing Boll

Of the plants upon which humanity depends, the various species of the
genus Gossypium have probably more enemies, and more relentless enemies,
than any other. Besides army worms, cut worms, locusts, green flies, leaf
bugs, blister mites, and several others, nature has produced and rendered
extremely prolific and hardy, these two particular pests, the boll weevil
and the boll worm. It is said that the collective attacks of all the
insects which feed upon cotton cost the country in the neighborhood of
$60,000,000 every year at pre-war prices. The little gray beetle that the
world knows as the cotton boll weevil is responsible for most of this.
The mother weevil lays her eggs in the bud. As the grubs from the eggs
develop, the bud drops. If a weevil arrives on the scene after the bolls
have begun to form, she lays her eggs in those with a fine indifference.
These bolls will not drop, but the grubs ruin the cotton they contain.
There have been numerous investigations and experiments made to develop a
variety of cotton impervious to the weevil's attacks, as well as to find
another insect willing to meet him in combat and overcome him. Guatamalan
cotton is said to be immune and efforts are being made to transplant it
to the United States. A small ant-like creature called a "kelep" has also
been found, which attacks, kills and devours the weevil, but,
unfortunately, the kelep prefers a warmer clime, and pines away and dies
in even the mild winters of the cotton belt. The boll worm is very
similar to the corn worm with which all housewives are familiar, and
indeed corn is its favorite diet. But cotton will do in a pinch, and,
next to the weevil, he ruins more cotton than any other pest. The boll
weevil cost the country about $25,000,000 yearly, pre-war prices, and the
boll worm about $12,500,000 yearly, enough to justify an even greater
expenditure for investigation a