The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1908-11-12
TEXAS BOIL ,WEETIL FIGHT
( CONCLUDED FROM LAST WEEK J
BY H. c. STRIGFELLOW

sir, / have enough corn to last me
now two years, but / can sell what
| don't need. / believe In diversity
ing, but not in trucking. Raise stand
ard crops. My place contains 1900
acres. Have 500 acres In cotton, 500
acres mesquite grass, $50 acres corn,
loo acres oats. On my 800 acres
mesquite / have 65 mule colts, so or
60 head of Durham cattle. | am GO
ing to get rid of cattle and stick to
mules. Ticks are too bad, and cattle
do not pay. Mules pay WE'LL Oats
is good crop and pay. Mules pay
well; understand, | do not breed
mules, buy them as colts, feed and
take care of them until they are
three years old, and reap a good prof
1t. My cotton crop before boil vice.
wills was $50 bales Since boil vice.
viB $50 to ITS, but have cut ex-
penses accordingly, abolished the one
horse sweep, took up the cultivator
and worked 40 to so acres to the
hand. instead of 90 Boil weevils
teach you progress and economy"
We went through his pasture, 300
acres level valleys and sloping hills,
oil matted with mesquite grass, with
a living stream of water flowing
through 1t, forming a combination of
Beauty that nature rarely develops.
Saw s. mule colts making their liv-
ing on grass, with but little corn; In
fact. believe Colonel Gibson told
me they had never tasted corn. Be
{. at as It may, they were a fine look
ms lot of colts, all we'll developed,
round and fat. Also saw his fine
Durham cattle. ne said, See that
COW. / paid $3.50 for her mother. /
love line cattle, but l am going out
o. the business; am too old to make
it pay; ticks too bad
From the pasture we went to his
barns. They were filled with corn,
oats and hay and every work mule
seal fat under shed and an Andrew
Jackson rule of discipline, that
ought to be practiced by every farm
err. From the barns we went to the
cotton fields. | had not forgotten the
gun barrel rows, and expected to
see crooked gun barrel, but not
So Every row as straight as a die,
and showed thorough cultivation.
The cotton was waist high and not a
bloom in the field Boil weevils
claimed top crop and had =. He was
making one-third bale to the acre.
His corn crop was good His oat
crop consisted of $50 acres. Had
10 acres up and was tall enough to
Craze; was then breaking 80 acres
more for spring planting and his
sulky plows were turning all vege-
tation out of sight. AXE this farm
as a whole and 1t was the best reg
ulnted farm | ever saw, and while
Louisianan farmers may think ST.
600 would not be much revenue
from 1900 acres in our years, re-
member this was net and in a boil
weevil section, besides the colonies
household expense in a town like
! Corsicana is not small item.
When | bid Colonel Gibson good
bye he said: Go home and tell your
people not to be discouraged; good
will yet flow from evil. The second
and third year of boil weevils may
pass them through the crucible. as
1T did us here, but after that the
pest will grow less ravenous, and
you can again grow cotton, less the
top crop. After that bottom and mid
die crops can be made, but lay aside
the one-horse sweep and take the
cultivator Curtail the acreage in
cotton, heavy the second and third
year to escape loss, and stick to- 6i-
versifed standard crops as | have,
and tSey will succeed.
Gentlemen, believe it will pay
to take the advice of this success
full and grand old man.
Near COrsicana / saw the only
crop of cotton that had Dloom on
1t. Rode up to a farm house that
was surrounded by a cotton crop
of so acres. All blooms weer gone.
except about l IL acres immedi-
ately In front of the residence.
asked why that was. The lady Of
the house sail she did not know,
unless 1t was because her guineas
had lived In that IL acres all the
year and proved a parasite to boil
weevils
| went to Waco, to inspect the
COTTON meiiate1y on tie Brazos,
and what is known as the valley
bottom of the Brazos. Next to the
river proper the soil is a little heavi-
er, but as the land recedes becomes
lighter, is much Ike the soil of
the OuacEita.
In company with Captain Watts
] visited several farms east of the
Brazos. This land is higher than the
valley proper, yet some of it over
flowed this year. Found some poor
cotton, but the majority of 1t good,
and a rev crops opened close to
the top. In no crop did I fail to find
boil weevil. One tenant Las crop
of fine cotton in certain cut, and
In another, the cotton Is almost
worthless, but with a growth that
was fine as to weed. / said, 'Ex-
plain this to me- He said. well
sir, all the rest of my cotton is
March cotton. This ground was cold
and wet In March and / put off
planting until the first Of May. Boil
weeyils took it and ] will never
plant cotton late again j. B. Ellis
owned this crop. He had II IL
acres Of March cotton and counted
on 10 bales he will not miss it much
plowed his cotton 10 times.