The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1908-09-03

Able Address by rIE Evans, Rep
resenting the U. s, Govern
ment at the Natchez
institute.

institute.
The following address, delivered
by Mr.. Evans of Shreveport, a
the farmers institute at Natchez
is an able exposition of the vex
ing boil weevil question. Mr.
Evans has been engaged in the boil
weevil fight since 1898. and is,
therefore, an authority on the sub
ject:
"Our work is to raise crops in
spite of the boil weevil. Beginning
the experiment with one farm i'll
Texas there are now so. 900 farms
OH which the government is pur-
suing its experiments. The march
of the boil weevil since 1890, when
1t first began its ravages near
Brownsville, Tex, has been steady
and certain at the rate of about SO
miles year. If the planters had an
idea the boil weevil was not serious,
they should get it out of their heads.
Its presence entailed great fnan-
cial loses, ruin and suffering. l
am surprised that so little prepar-
alton had peen made here for his
coming. Why have the people neg
lected the warming sounded for
years by the government.
$50 far as the entomologist knows
the boil weevil feeds on the cotton a
lone. There are two kinds of pune
lures. each equally fatal. One is the
feeding puncture, the other breed
ing puncture. The female will rare
ly lay her eggs in punctured
square. She lays approximately
$50 eggs, each In separate square.
"They will often puncture half
matu red bolls. In four to FIVE days
the egg matches worm; gradually
this worm develops into full grown
weevil and eats its way out. 1.-THE
four stages in the development of
the weevil were minutely describ-
ed.l The development depends
largely upon the temperature.
The entomologists estimate that
one pair of weevils beginning work
early in the season, if uninterrupt
ed, will produce 81, 900, 900. There
are never enough weevil in spring
to destroy a crop. While millions
go into winter quarters only thous-
ands survive. We had i'll Louisi-
ana only one weevil last spring
where year prior there were 20.
The young ones were killed by
freeze; the old ones died soon after
beginning operations. Sometimes
the weevil appeared before square
forms. In the Brazos Valley l
have picked them from the small
cotton stalks. From 40 acres of
cotton on farm in Texas planter
had paid children to pick the wee
vii from the small stalks. The
children picked $4,000, more than
1 900 to the acre before the cotton
was knee high. The farmer made
a fair cotton crop that year, and all
his neighbors lost their crop.
"In Texas about the same a.
mount of cotton is produced as was
made before the advent of the wee
vii, but it is made in spite of the
Weevil. 1t is a delusion to think
he weevil is not here to stay. The /,
is how to get the best re-
ults in spite of the weevil. "Di-
is the solution. The
,lantations must be made selt-sdp-
'osting. Everything should be :
aised that the soil will produce.
Corn, meat and stock provender
hould be raised. Delta planters Il
this sort of talk several u
ears ago. They said, we don't Il
,ant the negro to raise hogs and a
orn; let him raise cotton and
re'll sell him his bacon and his pro-
isions. That time has passed or is
assing. What the planter wants a
ow is negro who can raise any p
ling. Another thing, the credit e
ystem will have to go. Instead OF p
the tenant provisions he Il
Hi be told to raise bis hogs and il
orn. A revolution in Texas agri- S
ulture brought about through dire s
ecessity following in the weeviPs c
rake. Diversi6cation, compulsory a
the beginning. has turned bless Fl