The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1902-10-14
;:;9T1ON CROP IMPERILED
nTer
,.iE BOIL WEEVlL HAS COST
a s2o,ooo,ooo THIS YEAR.
'e Only Way TO Prevent Practical
Destruction Is to Wage Perpetual
Warfare-Prot. Mally's ES-
hsustive Report Thereon.

III az PtO Dale auouht W F@ViVVN' |
REQ.
That represents the cost of the boil |
eevil to Texas this year.
we It is confidently predicted that by |
20 ext season the pest will have invad- |
u every cotton county in Texas with |
w. corresponding increase Of damages. |
" brief, the cotton crop, the most |
aluable agricultural asset Of the |
tate, is in great danger Of almost to-
Al destruction-at least Of such dam
&c that its cultivation will scarcely |
'spay the effort
., No more serious problem ever con
ronted the agriculture of the state.
- All efforts at total eradication of the
lest have miserably failed. The in
= ect Increases and spreads in spite Of
], poisoning and other methods which
=, lave conquered the ordinary pest.
=, The only hope at present lies in per.
=, ,Detual warfare at every stage of
=, Towth and development, through the
"a all, winter, spring and summer.
Prof f. w. Mally, state entomolo-
yist, who has been studying the prob
/, elm since its inception, has just com
)leted report covering several years
:. .)f study and experimentation. The
report is voluminous. 1t is a com
plete description of the insect, its
=, habits, life and operation, with the
conclusions of himself and many of
lhe best farmers of Texas. In a word,
they are of the one mind that the only
Way to control the boil weevil-they
10 not hope to entirely eradicate
him, at least for a long time-ls by
an elaborate and painstaking system
Of culture and method of burning,
plowing, hand picking, spraying, etc,
extending practically throughout the
year.
Prof. Mally begins with a descrip-
tion of the boil weevil area. He shows
very clearly that the pest is not mi
gratory that is, It does not move from
one section to another, but simply
A expands its field of operation, and he
i expresses the opinion that by next
i season il will have invaded every coun-
gty in Texas. It's apparent disappear
ance in the Rio Grande country he
q attributes to the long drouth, extend
ing over two or three years, and to
: the effect Of grazing cotton lands, The
grazing suggests part of his general
method of management which is dis
cussed in his instructions for fall op-
erations.
He gives a minute description and
history of the weevil, its habits,
breeding, life, etc, all of which is
necessary to know in order to success
) fully fight the evil. There appear to
be two broods, one alternating brood
which exists in a dormant state dur
ing the winter and then moves out
upon the cotton in the early spring.
These are destructive, of course, and
they breed another crop which hatch
es out in summer and continue to null
tiply every few weeks, hence there are
two pests as a matter of fact, or two
phases of the pest to combat.
He has little hope for relief from
natural enemies. Several varieties of
ants feed upon the larvae, but the
/ ants are not sufficient to make any
serious inroads. The cotton caterpil-
/ lar also feeds upon the larvae, but
4 it would be manifestly unwise to get
rid of one pest by cultivating another.
I Besides the caterpillar, like the ant,
may be easily diverted TO another food
and is unreliable,
Prof. Mally shows very clearly that
the boll.weevil is not the same as the
corn weevil, nor the plum-pit weevil,
nor the shapshooter, He is an animal
of his own sort and so far as observ-
ed in this country he feeds upon moth
ing but cotton.
Prof. Mally's method Of fighting be-
gins in the fall, when he would have
cotton lands grazed toward the end
of the season and before frost falls
The cattle will nip the squares and
tender parts of the plant and destroy
many weevils in that way, whereas If
the planter waits until frost before
turning in his cattle, the frosts will
have destroyed the tender parts of
the plant and the cattle will not eat
it. For the same reason the field
should be rid of all grass or other
food to attract the cattle. After graz
ing. the plants should be cut and
burned and plowlng should be kept
up during the winter so as to keep the
larvae that have fallen to the ground
in constant state of disturbance in
order that they may be destroyed or