The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1907-10-04
BOIL NEEvIL IN
MISSISSIPPI DELTA.
mo Way to Destroy Terrible Enc.
my Of South's Money Crop"
Says Government Expert.
ADVISE CULTURAL iilTnODS
Rotate the C.ops, Follow Cotton With
Oats and Oats With Late Corn,
Reduce the Acreage in Cotton
and Produce More t. Acre.

Oats and Oats With Late Corn,
Reduce the Acreage in Cotton
and Produce More t. Acre.
Prof. w. M. Bamberge, Uncle
Sans boil weevil expert anc
special agent of the government
department of agriculture, re.
turning to Jackson from Adams
county, where he has been doing
special work, said to an Associ.
ated Press representative that
the presence of the genuine Mex
lean boil weevil in the delta
counties is an assured fact, and
gives the farmers of Mississippi
the benefit Of his long study and
vast experience with the much
dreaded pest in the following:
It is an assured fact that the
cotton boil weevil has invaded
the state Of Mississippi. The
present known point Of infection
is in Adams county and it is
more than likely the weevil will
be found in Wilkinson, jefferson
and Claiborne counties before
the frost stops the cotton's
growth.
"The infestation was found on
the Mississippi river below
Natchez but was not found a few
miles farther west. This indi-
Gates a very recent infection.
How far east the enemy will
reach this season depends entire
ly upon climatic influences. It
is more than likely tkr infesta-
ton viii spread more rapidly
along the river bottom lands than
towards the hills because of the
more luxuriant growth of the
weed in the bottom lands.
"Of course the cotton boil wee.
vii will do the present cotton
crop no damage. 1t will simply
get settled down and go into hib-
ernation ready to depredate up-
the crop af 1908"
About the Weevil.
Replying to questions, Mr..
Bamberge said:
"The boil weevil does not eat
the cotton up; on the contrary
the quantity consumed by the
weevil would not seriously dam
age the crop. The damage is
done by the female depositing an
egg in the square; the egg hatch
es and the larva consume the
contents of the square and pass
ing through the metamorphosis
emerges from the dried shell of
the square a perfect weevil. This
process is completed in from II
to Is days, depending on the
season. AS one weevil can lay
200 eggs, and only lays one egg
in a square, it is only a mathe-
matical calculation to show the
number Of squares possible for
one weevil (not counting the
male) to destroy in a growing
season.
''Some authorities say one lady
weevil with her descendats, in a
full cotton growing season and
with favorable conditions, will
number 40, 900, 900. Divide 80
into this and you find the mum.
ber Of pounds of seed cotton de-
stroyed to produce that large
family.
There is no way to destroy
this terrible enemy Of the South s
sole money crop. Every energy
of the United States department
| of agriculture has been and is
being directed toward that end,
Every entomologist in the South
is working in that direction and
while much has been learned
land considerable good done YET
they are far from attaining their
hopes.
i Cultural Methods.
/ Cultural methods, as it has
been called, are so far the bes1
and only known method by which
q crop can be made in the fac.
Of the cotton boil weevil. Brief
" stated, they are as follows:
"Flat-break the land from A tx
6 inches deep in November -Oc
tober would be better land rur
a sub-soiler behind the turning
ploW.
Plant in the spring as soo1
as the ground begins to warm
on shallow beds 4 feet apart, o.
at a distance equal to the heigh'
cotton grows in your field. Bal
| off as soon as characteristic
/ leaves show and commence shal
|ilow cultivation. Continue thl
Icultiyation until the bolls begil