The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1908-10-31
TO SOLVE Bolt.
WEEVIL PROBLEM
DESTROY PLANTS AFTER PICKING.
Interesting and Instructive Bulletin Sent
out by WilmCn Newell of State
Crop Pest Commission.
Continued from last week.

advanced that the crop can not
be picked out, owing to scarcity
of labor or lateness in opening,
early enough 50 that the plant
can be destroyed by the planter
at the time recommended. We
realize the difficulties frequently
in the way Of properly putting
this plan into execution At the
same time, in every section thor
oughly infested by boil weevils,
no top crop Of any Importance
can be expected and the bulk of
cotton produced is ready to pick
by Oct. % or Nov. 10 at the latest.
1t is only a question of harvest
Ing the cotton crop with the same
rapidity and dispatch with which
other crops are harvested. Even
if some unopened bolls do re-
main in the fields at the time of
destroying the plants, it is far
better to destroy them along
with the plants than to endanger
the following years crop for the
sake of a few additional pounds
of lint. It does not require an
expert mathematician to see. that
it is more profitable to sacrifice
so or 100 pounds of seed cotton
per acre when destroying the
weevils in autumn, than to sacri-
flee from one third to one half a
bale of the following years crop
by incubating the Weevils in
green cotton plants until winter
and sending them all, young and
old, into winter quarters, fat
and Well-fed. .
In spite Of all the arguments
that may be brought to bear
against this fall destruction of
the cotton plants, the fact re,
mains that in many localities in
Louisiana the farmers will have
to adopt it or abandon cotton
! ss4-<-v-;r,ss e.A+iaaIs -ss,lAas,- eelr-oopgtJ
been done in parts of Texas
: where the rainfall is practically
as great as in Louisiana. On the
other hand, the uniform early
fall destruction OF the cottoI
plants will insure a good crop the
following year, and when supple
mented by the use of early ma
turing varieties, thorough prepa
ration of soil, ETC., it will AFFORD
as efficient a remedy" for thu
boil weevils as is usually attained
/. in the warfare Of many other in
furious insects which are no
considered as threatening tn
: prosperity of the country. Will
e the improved varieties now being
e planted, and with the excellen
: methods OF cultivation now il
+ vogue. we conscientiously believ
that early fall destruction of tn
d cotton plants would result in bet
j. ter average crops OF cotto]
l. now than were secured befor
a the advent of the Weevil.
Thousands of farmers have eH
j pended time and money in hanc
} picking the weeyils from IN
# small cotton plants, in pickin
l. up infested squares, in the al
s plication of poisons and in tn
v use of weeyil-catching machines
d The same amount Of energy an
n money devoted to the early ia
destruction of the cotton plant
o. would insure q much greater il
h crease in the crop and would
d the same time render these oil
K or measures of less necessity.
o. On upland soils, where the co
D ton plants are small, it is fr
1e quently possible to pillow the
th under. A chain can often be a
~ tached to the turning pillow
w such a way that the plants W
lo ho courht and thrown into II