The pink bollworm of cotton in recent years has become so extensively distributed and is of such general, world-wide importance that its exceptional status in Haiti may prove to be of more than local interest.

Haiti is the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which is the second largest of the West Indies, lying between Cuba and Jamaica on the west and Porto Rico on the east. The Dominican Republic occupies the remainder of the island, and is sharply contrasted with its smaller but more populous neighbour in the language, racial origins, habits and customs of its people. Cotton is not extensively grown in the Dominican Republic ; in Haiti, however, it is second only in importance to coffee. The extensive plains of the Cul-de-Sac and the Artibonite seem to be especially well adapted in soil, elevation, and climate to its growth, and here it forms the main money crop of the region.