The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-06-18
FARMERAND PLANTER.
WAR AGAINST BOIL WEEVIL
Tho Campaign of 1901 Against tue
Pest, Conducted Ry prof. NalIy,
Of Texas, Recalled.

Mally, then state tIeXasj eu|LDuiOLOsiSIi
conducted a number Of poison trlals on
cotton and announced the results
telling Just how to XIII the weeyil In
spring with ~arsenate Of lead. Commit
tees Of business men rode through ne
back districts In many south Texas
counties to induce farmers ~ spray.
Hundreds Of expensive spraying out
fits were bought and carloads OF pol
sOn--bOth Of which can now be found
In many places by the traveller in south
Texas, Poisoning for that season was
generally a failure. The d~iaappolnt-
NEXT felt by hundreds who made
earnest efforts to carry out instructions
given changed slowly to disgust and
then a feeling Of soreness, which Is
still found among the cotton growers
Of the old weevll district.
Poison did not work in 1901, but in
1902 the red oxide earth was ingeni-
ousDy advertised and sold by car lots to
hopeful cotton growers in the WeeYll
district. This material contained no
poison, was not hurtfuI to weevil and
passed quietly away.
Many farmers used poisons success
fully On very young cotton IN 1901 al
the same time that Prof. Mally was
earnestly and enthusiastically push
ing his tests preliminary to the an
nOuncmcnt of results in May, as we
recall the dates Dcspitc the general
failure, some of these farmers have
continued to poison their cotton and
protect same from woeyiL
WHY we're thousands disappointed by
pOigons used in 1902 Would good re-
suits have followed the use Of poisons
in Aprjl and Mav-ingtead of late June
and July? A study of the situation
clearly shows that 1t would. Unlike
Cant. Marston's recommendations, the
/ arscnate of lead campaign was expect
ed to kill the weeyll by inducing the
pest to partake of poisoned sweets
SPRAYED upon the foliage. Prof. MaIly
said in his report (p. "a, Farmers Bull
letin 1870. U. S. u. A.: at should be
remembered that wecyils do not eat ex-
posed surfaces of the plant. their al
most in~variable place of feeding being
in the squares. safely sheltered by the
! inyolucre or shuCk, Even here they do
not feed p o exposed surfaces, but eat
q small hole to the inside and feed on
the inner portions"
The next statement of his obserYa-
lions has caused many to stumble, viz:
I'm the spring, before squares are
formed, they feed, when driven by ne
Cessity, upon almost any portion OF
the plant, but almost Invariably the
outer bark Is rasped and peeled OIL be-
fore feeding underneath. On account
Of this peculiar habit 1t Is at once evil
dent that poisons and powders sprayed
or busted upon the plants can be Oh
little or no service, because Inc sur
face on which they are found Is taken
of and thrown aside
lhls ingenious ueScr1PLloh Se''''u
the matter Win lho''Sahos o. FARMERS
ana amateur eNpeIl'heh'e'S nut n",
merous deau "e''ilS lo"uu upon ai',
under poisoned staiKS Oh col'oh uuSl'o
win FaTls green IL tue open ie'u ny
capt MarS'ch u'SP'o'c 'ne "IS
Oh lneSe o~oset'"'loh "' 'pPi''" ~
hungry WeeNlis emerging from winter
quarters just no" IVus lh'se "eeN'e
VIII continue 10 lee" upon tne ou''i
surfaces OF tle leaves ana s'ei'S %
cotton there seems ho uouot eAlS''uS
Ill the mlhdS OF inc farmers WHO na'e
poisoned the WeeVllS lot lhree years
past. They assure us nat the pests
eat the poisoned surfaces uhul Inc
squares beglh TO IorfA' After TINS Iihe
all agree hat polson5 are useless.
II is to be regretted that early appll'
cations or polsohS were not idrB"'S
tested during the spring OF lSV@ aho
1908, How important such work Is may
be seen by the following extracts TAX
en- from +. W, Mallys report as pro
lessor Of entomology, page 81: II
should be conceded that spraying a.
praCtiCed by cotton planters, the sea
son of 1901 was In numerous instance,
a failure. Having failed t,
avail themselves of cultural method
earlier in the season, and suddenl,
realizing that they were threatened
with the loss of the crop, their onl,
hope then lay in successful spraying
This they seemed willing enough to do
but having waited until the last mo
ment about a hundred thousand farm
ers wanted proper spraying apparatu
and proper poisons at once and all til
same day. The Weakening q
the farmers occurred about May 10, /
plenty of time to have sprayed sue
cessfully for the alternating brood
= the first car load Of sprayer
was distributed no earlier than th
first week in June, or just about til