The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1910-03-24
MAKING COTTON DESPITE THE
WEEVILS.
.To dc PEOPLE and the Press :


To the People and the Press:
Every Southern paper |. have seen has
published DR.. Knapp's diagnosis of the
cotton crop turnout for 1909, and from
my standpoint it is so deceiving, I beg
your indulgence to reply:
He says: "First-It demonstrated that
crop Of cotton, under heavy boil weevil
infestation, could be made after July
l., etc. Because this was in measure
accomplished in 1902 how was it in
Ioo4-7-8? In Texas in 1904 hundreds
of thousands of acres never made boil
The peculiar drouth of 1909 did the
work for the planters. In Ioo4-7-8 this
peculiar drouth did not materia1ize, and
the weevil won out. Who can count on
peculiar drouth in 1910?
He further says: "There were very
few bolts on the cotton plants in Louis
lana and Southwest Mississippi on July
I, 1909" He should have added, except
where the cotton was judiciously pois-
oned as in the case of Mr.. John erich
tons of Crichton, La, and Dr. J. 7.
Schumpert's of Shreveport, La, and a
thousand more, where the work was
done intelligently His own inspector,
Mr.. Cowden, visited Mr.. Crichton's
crop the last of July and said the crop
was practically perfect and the weevil
infection was "immaterial." Why did
not DR.. Knapp report this official fact?
Now, for nearly seven years these shot
house experts who have no practical
experience as agriculturists, have had
the ears of the public through the press,
and while it has been my fate TO call
them down time and again, what has
been the result? The weevil has crossed
the State of Louisiana and are waxing
fat in Mississippi and Arkansas. If ev-
cry man had poisoned the weevil as sue
cessfully as Mr.. Crichton and DR..
Schumpert and many others have,
where would the summer weevil have
come from to destroy the late crops?
I believe the weevif could have been
stopped between the Sabine and Red
rivers. They can be stopped right
where they are.
enter again, and again, my unqual-
fed protest against such rot as this of
DR.. Knapp's, as late as 1910. He may
have had some justification for his ig-
norance in 1904. But since the unquali-
fed surrender of Prof Newell, late en-
tomologist of Louisiana, and the re-
ports of Mr. Cowden of the United
States Department of Agriculture, and
Prof. Garrett, who has succeeded DR..
Newell as entomologist of the Crop
Pest Commission of Louisiana, both of
whom reported on the fine condition OF
the Crichton crop of 1909, there can be
no excuse for DR.. Knapp's ignorance.
When Mr.. Crichton poisoned his crop
in May 1909, he estimated there were 70
weevils on an average of 20 steps all
over his cotton. He whipped the weevil
by a process of judicious poisoning. Ey-
cry one could have done the same thing
had they all had the information Mr..
Crichton had And they would have
had it if the papers of the South had
given the same publicity to facts de-
monstra'ed by our most practical plant
ers, they have to the inexperienced re-
ports of ignorant so-called experts"
Yours truly, and ex-member of the
Crop Pest Commission of Louisiana,
B. w. MARSTON,
Shreveport, La, March 10, 1910.
P. S.-Please pass this on to your
neighbors and friends.