The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1905-03-24
THE BOIL WEEYIL
The Director of the Georgia Station
Gives Some Points.

Gives Some Points.
Cotton Growers North and East OF
Texas Urged to Prepare
for the Worst Now.
A dispatch from Was -.Igton to the
Atlanta Journal says information re-
garded by officials as Of great value to
cotton growers is contained in an arti.
Gle prepared by Colonel r j. Residing,
director OF the Georgia experiment
station, which Is to be published In q
few days as special bulletin Of the
bureau Of plant industry Of the de-.
partmelj Of agriculture. This is to
be known ss Farmers Bulletin No
2l7. In his introduction Colonel Red,
ding says:
In Farmers Bulletin No. 199, Is
sued In 1904, it was stated that the
work OF the bureau Of entomology for
several years has demonstrated that
there iB not even remote probability
that the boil weevil will ever be ex.
terminated and that. the steady ex-
tension OF the territory affected by the
wetyil from year to year. until the
northern boundary Is far north of the
center Of cotton produc; ion in the
United States, has convinced all ob
servers that it will eventually be dis
tributed all over the cotton belt. In
ten years IL has gradually advanced Il
distance OF about 500 miles and will
| undoubtedly invade new territory at
about the same rate. 1t is not at all
likely that legal restriction of any
kind would prevent or materially hin
der this SPREAD
These conclusions, Colonel Red
ding continues, must be accepted as
or the highest authority, since they
have been reached by qualified scieu-
tlhc investigators after careful labor
atory and field experiments, conduct.
ed for several years on large scale
and In the older weevil infested region
Of Texas. The matter iS, therefore,
not ltcal problem confined to Texas
and nearby states, but affects the en-
tire cotton growing region.
AT the indicated rate Of migration
1t is very probable that within ten or
tiftet n years every portion Of the co..
ton producing region will have teen
Invaded. 1t is we'll, therefore, for the
cJltOn growers nOrthward and east.
ward OF Texas to prepare for the worst
by learning the 10. thods that have
been found effective IN minifying the
ravagss OF the weeyll, and such other
remedies or palliatives as may be de-
veloped meanwhile, and be prepared
TO apply them whenever it shall be-
come necessary. In view OF the i'm
mense Importance and value OF the cot.
ton crop, the subject has indeed be-
come Of national Importance.
'Tne bulletin mentioned, however,
gives assurance that although the very
large yields OF cotton OF former times
may no longer be possible, it is never
theless entirely feasible to produce
cotton at margin Of profit that will
compare favorablY with that involved
in The production Of most Of the staple
crops Of the United States by follow
ing what have become generally known
as cultural methods.
Among the nest important Of
these methods are those directed to-
ward securing an early dt velopment
Of the cotton plant and an early ma
turity OF the largest possible proper
tiOn OF the crop, and the object Uf this
bulletin Is to discuss the practical de-
tails which have been found necessary
and effective in promoting early ma
turity.
The writer may be pardoned for
stating that most of what appears In
the bulletin is directly based on long
noronna1
ton planter, and the superadded re-.
suits OF fifteen consecutive years of
field experimentation at the Georgia
experiment station. 1t was partly the
purpose OF many Of these field expert
mcnts to discover the conditions Of
fertilizing and culture that were ef
fective in promoting early maturlty
for the crop and the particular varie.
ties best suited for securing such early
maturity.
1t may be well to state that during
the whole of the hftcen-year period
the work has been supervised by the
writer, as director Of the station, and
the practical details have been sup,r.
intended continuously by James M.
Kimbrough, the agriculturist of the
station"
The steps necessary to secure early
maturity are then diAcu ,sed by Cul1-
mel Redding in the natural order Of
cultural accession, and In manner
which is at once SO complete and so
clear as to furnish the maximum
amount Of useful information. TIE
whole OF this discussion cannot tie
given here, OF course, but an idea OF
1t may be gained from the following
summary OF ecommendations:
/. Prepare the soil thoroughly and
early, b ginning with fall pl)wing.
2. Fertil!ze literally and judicious
ly, carefully avoiding an exc, Ss OF nj
trogen. On rich, dark, alluvlal ani
freshly cleared soil, phosphoric acid
alone, In the form of acid phosphate,
may be applied.
3. Apply fertilizers in the drill and
bed on them. Broadcastlng is rarely,
II ever, expedient.
4. Choose an early maturing and
productive variety Of cotton and plaut
on the beds, and as early as possible.
Apply In the seed furrows 40 to rs
pounds per acre OF quickly available
fertilizer, preferably 25 10 40 pounds
OF nitrate OF soda.
5. Reduce to a final stand as quick.
ly az possible.
G. Let cultivation be frequent and
shallow.
7 Narron rom, ,uitb ,nilo ,..oi,-