The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-26
The Great Insect Foe OF Cotton.

The Great Insect Foe OF Cotton.
Our readers doubtless remember
that we have referred to this insect a
number of times in the past five or six
years and in doing so have felt called
upon to suggest that it would not be a
bad thing for farmers to discount its
appearance in the South Atlantic
states and to give their serious atten-
ton to the question how to farm
without cotton.
When VIC first read of it's emigration
into Texas from Mexico in the year
1894 and. remembering what the Next
can cotton boll-weevil had done for
cotton growing in that country we
realized that the cotton farmer of the
South was threatened with a foe II
that staple that would make those that
he was already familiar with appear
as quite innocent and harmless. As
A result we have watched with great
interest the progress of the foe into
Southern territory and the means for
contending with it when it should
make it's appearance in our own fl Ids
of Alabama and Georgia.
A recent bulletin 063) of the Depart
ment of Agriculture would lead us to
the conclusion that the boll-weevil was
still confined to twenty-five counties in
Western and Southern Texas, within
which region we are told the damage
by the weevil at a con servative esu-
mate was S1O.OO0,O00 in 1902"
We are told during the past season
the Division of I1ntonoo gy has been
engaged in field experiments to demon
strate that cotton can be produced sue
cessfully in spite of the bol-weevil.'
1t is wholly Beyond possibility that
the weevil is ever to be extermjnated
Its history in Mexico and since reach
ing Texas offers no hope that it will
ever be much less destructive than
now.
We are told in the way of encourage
ment that it has been demonstrated
nevertheless that cotton can be grown
probably "by means Of a few ex
pedients" IN planting and managing
the crop even when the insect is pres
ent." These expedients Involve no
appreciate extra expense" in produc-
ing the staple and are coming to be
generally adopted in preference to di-
rect means such as poisons and ma
chimes" These "expedients," we find,
are simply early planting and rapid
cultivation and then destroying the
plants by burning as soon as possible
after the crop is gathered. This latter
"expedient'is altogether for the benefit
of the next years Crop-done with
view of destroying the pupae or dor
mant weevl that would appear the
following spring.
Taken as whole this bulletin is
somewhat contradictory and unin-
structive as a careful reading of it
will show.
We have good reasons for believing
that this pernicious insect has already
found a footing in several places east
of the Mississippi river and it will be
fully demonstrated before another crop
of cotton is gathered.
In addition to the above brief quo
tations from the bulletin we conclude
with another:
The most serious aspect of the sit
uation is in the fact that the pest is
constantly spreading and will un-
doubtedly eventually be distributed all
over the cotton belt. There are no in
f1uences that can check il short of the
limit Of its food plant in this country
In Mexico, where the insect has exist
ed as an important enemy of cotton
for much longer period than in the
United States, the Investigations of the
Division of Entomo' ogy, as well as of
the Mexican government, indicate that
the only factor in limiting it's distribu-
ton is that of altitude. In the famous
'Laguna' district in that country, in
Guiding portions of the states of Goa
hula, Chihuahua, and Durango the
weevil has never gained a foothold
Notwithstanding the fact that large
quantities Of seed cotton are annually
shipped there for ginning and milling
from the lower regions, where it is
very numerous. That this region, I'M
der these circumstances, has never be-
come infested seems only to be explain
ed by its altitude. which is disastrous
to an insect which probably originated
in region of very low elevat on. The
average deviation of the 'Laguna' dis
trict is about $500 feet above sea level
Unfortunately, in this country there Is
no land at all adapted to cotton culture
in the belt as now constituted thaSaD-
proaches such an elevation
'Basing the estima tie on a careful
study of the annual increase in terri
tory since the insect reached Tavas
as well as upon considerable att ention
that has been paid to the means
whereby it reaches new territory, it
seems safe to predict that in from fif-
teen to eighteen years the pest will be
serious drawback to cotton culture
everywhere throughout the South, as
it is in Texas now"