Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-11-30
YsBEsTRoY COTTON STALKS.
1yice Of Expert to- ExterTninate Boil
Weevil In Mississippi.
(Jackson, Miss, News.)

b E2Saaf1OH. ". II. AlIOru, special agent or
tHnS United States Department Of Ag-
xtSulture, bureau Of plant industry,
hAs Issued the following bulletin to
kthe farmers of the State:
ESThe most important step in pro-
Edacing cotton in boil weevil terri
nNry Is the early fall destruction Of
ttAeir only food plant, the cotton
fatalk. There are three methods of
ldestroxipg the stalks, (1) burning,
HaS) l BRING, (3) cutting and plow-
Ting under. Let us have a short dis
ESpsison of each emthod.
E Let us discuss the pasturing me-
Who'd first. Pasturing cotton fields Is
Ha good practice where tho cotton
EAelds are fenced and the number Of
Ieattle turned In the field is sufficient
Eto eat up all leaves, squares and
Esmall bolls In a very short time. This
Sertainly destroys all Of the imma-
E9ture weeviis, some of the mature
ESWeevils, and in addition destroys the
Wood supply Of the weevils that es-
Sacape the cows stomach. However,
ssthe stalks will soon "bud out" again,
Esthus producing food for the weevils.
#Fhis being true, the cotton salks
unjust be cut into pieces and plowed
Hunder thoroughly just as soon as the
Hcattle finish their work.
II Before passing this point, let it be
&distinctly understood that the prac-
,SStice Of turning a few head OF cattle,
afor example four or five yearlings
and milk COWS, into field Of fifteen
ITO twenty acres Of cotton stalks ac-
complishes no particular good. 1t is
AneSSsSary to completely destroy the
Afood supply of the adult weevil at the
5Rarliest possible moment in the fall
ind we know from observation that
Jwo or three head Of cattle per acre,
Ayen when confined in the cotton
sld, will eat very little Of the green
|5& liage before frost. Many of the
|sss53 led squares and some OF the small
WIS led bolls will not be eaten by the
pile. This, however, may be rene
ks under good and deep
s low let us discuss plowing un-
the cotton stalks. We consider
isable 10 turn cattle in the field
e few days to eat most Of the
s. ss and small bolls. because
OF the weevils in the squares
IS mall bolls will likely emerge
3Ssss sss the soil as proven by the care
!, periments Of Dr.. Hunter. Af-
s. cattle have had the run of
for three or four days, cut
they lks into PIECES the best you
can stalk otter and plow
them Aderas deep and as thorough
jly as You can. There is enough rain
fall In every county in this section
every winter to saturate the soil
many times and very few of the wee
wills buried good and deep will sur
viye for spring depredations.
We believe that pasturing cotton
fields with large numbers of cattle Is
good practice, but we do not be-
lieve that 1t is the best practice. We
believe that the practice of cutting
up I've cotton stalks and blowing
them under deep is good practice,
put not nearly as ffective as burning
them. The adult weevils will be able
to obtain food until the cold forces
them into winter quarters unless the
tAl1age on the cotton stalks Is plpw-
Ell under or a sufficient number OF
cattle Is put in the field to thoroughly
and completely denude the cotton
stalks of the foliage in say four or
fve days. Some of the dried squares
and small bolls will not be eaten by
the cattle even whore large numbers
are confined to the cotton fields. 1t
Is impossible for the average farmer
to bury his cotton stalks with his
ploW. No man can plow under cot
dtap stalks in stumpy land.
a'here are many reasons why the |
cotton stalks should be burned in the
boil weeyil territory as soon as the |
cotton can be picked out. The large |
majority Of the adult weevils perish |
IN the flames, especially when the
cotton stalks are burned at night. |
All of tho weevils in the immature |
stages in the squares and small bolls |
are burned. The few adult weevils |
that escape the flames will either
starve for lack of food before cold
drives them into winter quarters or
Will go into winter quarters "lank
and lean" and many will perish be-