The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1908-11-05
PRESENTS REPORT OF TEXAS BOIL WEEYI FIGHT,


sons are good. with moderate rains.
they make one-thfrd 0f hale to the
acre. For the past three years they
have had too much rain.
guess saw $4,000 acres in cut
ton and conversed with over q hun
dred farmers. To man they cay noth
Ing can defeat or destroy the boil
weevil. Some years they win. some
years they lose. The only method to
pursue Is to plant early, chop out
fast, then start your cultivator, work
ing 40 to 60 acres 10 the hand and
sweep 1t over 8 to IL times Never
let up on blowing, but work the crop
until it natures. even untll cotton
begins to open. then pick up your
sacks and go to picking They sur
render the top crop from the start,
never count on any but tn bottom
and middle crop. THIS year the crop
will average third Of : hale to the
acre.
In 1904 season were good. boil
weevils let up, and she made a
bumper crop of 1921 bales. Now
comes the other years of continued
rain. combined with boil weevils. In
1905 she only made $3.50 bales,
a falling off since 1904 or the enor-
nous sum OF 1921 bales, or a
money value to the county, count
ing seed and lint cotton at 5000
per bale, of $2.316,05O. Think of
that to one county. caused by a little
bug, that the brain OF man is pow
erless to combat.
Many OF her farmers determined
to diversity still further, and the
county planted 10.t.J acres In on
ions, pretty good sized patch Tor
one county. Asked what onions were
worth in Chicago and So. Louis, and
was told 35 cents bushe-, hence NO
encouragement is held out to divcrsi-
fly in perishable crops and the farm
ers of Collin will Surtail their onion
crop in 1909.
In Mckinney DIR. Thompson gave
me his opinion of boil weevils, said
they had been in 1oilin for years,
and no method had become known to
;ounteract their ravages: they dam
tged according to season. To illus
trate: lie knew of 20 acres plant
I'd in 1906 that made IA bales; this
in 1907 and made less than two
bales. He knew OF IA acres planted
in cotton in 1906 and made nine
bales; this same land was planted
in cotton in 1901 and made one bale.
DR.. Gibson says when boil weevils
first appeared it looked like starva-
ton for three years Said he chang
ed his tactics and raised everything
on the farm that would support the
farm; Topped off all expenses; con-
dttions improved, the boil weevil
grew less, better crops were made,
but the economy continued, and he
has recovered his losses and his farm
is on paying basis Makes less
cotton, but the price of cotton has
been better until this year and that
was a great factor Will collect his
rents this year and his land~wili net
him $3.50 to $500 per acre rent
His crop will average one-third of a
bale to the acre.
CorSicana is the county seat OF
Navarro, and has about $4,000 pop
ulation. Navarro in 1900 had a pop
ulation of 43,374 souls and raised
88,013 bales of cotton She has rails
ed much less since from results of
boil weeyil. Navarro is black land
rolling prairie country and her lands
are very rich and fertile The first
farm | visited was that of w. S. Fer
guson. After introducing myself
and stating my mission was to learn.
how to combat the boil weevil, he
said, he would like for some one to
show him" and he said it like he
meant it, too. He has been fighting
the boil weevil for sevec years, and
lis much at sea about whipping them
as he was seven years ago Asked
him II he made any money raising
cotton. His reply was. Some years
| make and some years 1 lose all
have made on cotton. III did not di-
versify my crop, i would lose ont al
together" Before the boil weeyil
came, he said that he averaged one
half bale of cotton to the acre, but
since their advent, he did not aver
age more than one-third of bale to
the acre; that he had adopted diuersi
fication with truck left or and stuck
to staple crops; said he raised pfen-
ty of corn; oats and hay, the mules.
Aio1 go esiAN AIO6o. OoLo R6x0 well w uGu
seasons hit right; raised 80 bushels
TO the acre, and sold them for the
past three years at 40 cents bushel.
His hogs paid well, and mules and
horses paid handsomely. He ran his
place part cash and part credit, but
could not say cotton was a paying
crop.
Mr.. Furgerson. what is your
mode of farming?" He said, II plant
Rowden and Kings improved cotton
Plant just as early as the spring will
admit, even take the chances of be-
ing caught by frost, when the cotton
is up and ready to chop, put 1t to one
stalk and work it as quick and rapid
ly as possible. Plow all the time /
use cultiyators and work 40 acres
to the hand. Ii we have seasonable
rains you will get ahead OF the boil
weevils and make fair crop of cot
ton, one-third bale to the acre; some
acres will do better. III rain comes
on you in excess in June and July, the
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