The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1909-11-19
VICTORY IS WON
OVER THE WEEVIL.
Governments Instructions Produced
the Result.

Fayette, Miss, Nov. 15.-The planters
Of Claiborne and the boil weevil have
been engaged in fierce struggle since
August, 1908. The first battle has
been fought. The planters who have
carried out the governments instruc-
tions have won glorious victory.
The planters who have kept their la
borers and forced them to plant their
best lands in corn and to thoroughly
cultivate it have an abundance of corn.
Those who forced their tenants to plant
cane and sorghum and to give it the
proper cultivation have enough mo-
lasses. Those who forced their tenants
to plant sweet potatoes, peas, ETC., and
to cultivate the crops we'll are now all
smiles.
Every planter is anxious to hold
every tenant with plenty of corn and
potatoes, molasses, etc. The merchants
are more than willing to furnish such
tenants next year. The planters will
not, nor will the merchants, furnish
tenant without corn, potatoes or mo-
lasses. Consequently hundreds of the
tenants will be compelled to leave the
county. AS result, thousands of acres
Of land will grow up in weeds and
briars. There is only one hope and that
is to grow all the farm produce nee
essary for home use.
Many planters have grown good crops
of cotton this year, in spite of the sea-
sons and boil weevil. l have obtained
the results from twenty-five planters
who cultivated 2SO acres according to
the governments methods, and got 1855
bales of cotton. One planter got 4,815
pounds of seed Gotten from two and
half acres. One planter got five bales
from six acres. One planter cultivated
22O acres according to the govern
ment's methods, but not under the in
structions of the writer, and obtained
1OS bales of Aliens long staple. All
now agree that good crops of cotton can
be grown in spite of the weevil in av-
erage seasons.
The tenants who reduced their cotton
acreage to from eight to ten acres to
the mule and cultivated the cotton in
the most thorough manner possible have
made fairly good crops. The grassy
cotton fields have produced very little
cotton.
The quick making lands, cultivated
according to the governments Methods
have made from one-half to three
fourths of a cotton crop. The boil
weevil played havoc with the late cot
ton crop on slate" lands.
Cotton is tropical plant. There is
no sense in planting cotton in the win
ter. The government advises the
planters to plant cotton as early as it
is safe from frost. The actual date of
planting depends npon the locality and
to some extent upon the nature of the
soil. Prepare fine seed bed plant as
early as the seasons will allow, roll the
seed twenty -four hours before planting,
plant shallow and the plants will be up
in few days.
Hundreds of acres of cotton replanted
in May and June will not yield one
bale to ten acres. The late crop is for
the boil weevil, not for the farmer. Let
every planter plant his cotton by April
20 next year.
The sun is the most effective weapon
at our service. When punctured squares
fall to the ground and are subjected to
the unobstructed rays of the sun, the
mortality is very high. Where the rows
are wide and the cotton small, prac-
tically all of the larvae and pupae are
killed during fair weather. II the rows
are narrow and the cotton makes a
rank growth and shades the ground,
very little benefit is derived from the
sun. The more rankly the cotton
shaded the more damage the weevil
will do.
The rows ought to be wide enough tc
make it possible for the sun to shine on
every boil from the time the blossoms
fall until maturity. The bolls that are
protected from the sun and consequent
ly tender are much more likely to bt
punctured by the weevil.
Acid phosphate is useless as fer
tilizer in Claibore county. Excellent
results have been obtained from the
use Of nitrate of soda and cotton seed
meal. l recommend the use Of frou
fifteen to twenty-five pounds Of nitrat<
of soda at planting time. 1t is also I'D
visable to use cotton seed meal wher,
lands are greatly worn by years o
cropping. A two years. rotation Q
corn and peas and cotton will make th,
soils Of Claiborne exceedingly pr0duc
tive in q few years.
We must plant prolific, early matuI
ing, big boil varieties of cotton. Weevil
are unable to multiply until square
begin to form, and as ouly small mum
bers pass through the winter, the
must have considerable time to mul
tiply in sufficient numbers to pnnotnr
the squares as List as they form. Fo
this reason, we must plant early ms
turing varieties Of cotton.
Largo boil varieties are much bette
than the small, because OF thicke
calyx. The weevil easily punctares th