The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-07-30
COMING OF THE BOIL WEEV|L DISCUSSED Farmers of Alabama Must Pre-
 = pare for Pest
SHOULD PLANT EARLY
Montgomery Man Lectures on Corn
 Brceding-sheep Raising Also Dis cussed-Interesting Talks Before Farmers school

Weev1l, whose coming to Alabama Was announced as inevitable, was dissected
 and discussed during the course of an H.
 ustrated lecture before the farmers sum-
 mer school last night by Dr. ". H. Hinds,
 state entomologist, and professor. of en-
 tomology at Auburn.
 Illustrated lantern slides, from photo
 graphs selected by the scientist in years of research and experimenting, were ex- hibited
 Farmers of Alabama must pit their brains against the boil weevil; there Is no specific with which to fight the pest. That the struggle will be hard and that eternal vigilance will be necessary, pr. Tate Butler of Starksville, Miss, dis
 closed.
 To thwart the boil weevil, every energy
 and every thought of the farmer is neces-
 sary; the sluggard who gets in the grass will in turn be gotten by the boil weevil, he said, the lazy farmer, who does not clean out his cotton early in the fall will be liable to destruction of his crop the next year.
 There Is one main idea in fighting the boil weeyil" said Dr. Butler. Early planting. to secure early fruiting and early maturing then liberal fertilization SC that the plant will be reduced anu more bolls and harder bolls produced, that the weevil cannot puncture them when he comes in the late summer.
 Every effort must be>made to get the crop early. The man who is retarded py the grass gives more time to the boil
 weevil to invade his fields. :.
 Early Planting Necessary It is necessary to plant early. said Dr. Butler Lands must be broken early; bot tom lands are not well adapted to cotton growing in boil weevil sections, as they are wet and cold in early spring, and early planting is impossible; that explains Louisiana's trouble from the weevil, sad Dr. Butler. Cotton must be plantedSwith the idea of early fruiting and early maturing. he said. the early fruiting being more i'm
 portant than the early maturing By breeding and selection, was his statement varieties of cotton could be secured Whlch frAit and mature early.
 Next, he said, after early frultlng IS se- cured, and the bolls are hastened in their growth so as to attain good-size and bardiness hv the time the boil weevil comes to bore into them. care must be taken to clean out the crop and the plants not later than October l. The weevil lives in cotton through the winter, and the earlier his food and nesting place IS oe- stroyed the less chance of his existence
 through the winter
 When I say plant carly" said Dr. But Ter. .'I do not mean to plant so early that cold will affect the crop and render use less your labor
 Dr. Butler advised crop rotation and stock raising as one means or thWartns | the weevil. One-third of farmers lands
 is enough to put in cotton, he said Lecture on Corn Breeding | Another instance of mans wonderful control over the powers of nature was re- | yealed In the lecture of Jesse M. Jones, a
 farmer of Montgomery county, on corn breeding.
 MT. Jones showed that by breeding and selection almost any desired variety of
 corn can be obtained-long ears, short
 ears, big stalks, small stalks, etc. He | showed how the best results in corn and | general farming are secured through se-
 lection and breeding. On his farm in Montgomery county he showed the yield
 in cory had been increased 26 per cent in | five years through the process | The rotation of crop system in connec-
 tion with corn culture, the method of | planting crops on the cornfield during | the season when corn did not grow was explained and indorsed. MT. Jones gave l the example of one Mississippi farmer who grew five separate crops on one acre by the system of rotation, planting first potatoes and ending the year with | oats.
 MT. Jones explained the dimensions and qualifications for an ideal corn and dis cussed corn judging. During the after noon he presided aver corn Judging con | test in which most of the farmers pres ent took part.
 | A scientists discussion of fertilizers fol- lowed the practical corn talk of Mir. Jones in the lecture of Dr. B. B. Ross, | Polytechnic institute. Dr. Ross upheld | the value of natural or domestic fer | tilizers.
 "The tendency of late years,'' he said, | ''has been to rate the value of artificial | or commercial fertilizer to the underval- | uatior of natural or domestic fertilizers, such as natural deposits, barnyard man ure, etc. The artificial or commercial | fertilizers should be used as supple
 ment to the natural fertilizer. | The history of the fertilizer industry,
 which, said Dr. Ross. had It's foundation in the discovery of the practical use | of natural fertilizers, and the evolution of the industry, was traced by the lec- turer. The importance of the industry to the south was stressed.
 "Seyenty-five per cent of all the fer | fS manufactured in the south,'' said pr. | Ross.
 | The lecturer discussed the various in- eredients of fertilizer, telling of the vfr- tues and powers of each element. On Sheep Raising Tn a lecture on sheep raising. Professor
 D. T. Gray of the department of animal | industry at Auburn, emphasized the need of good dog law in Alabama.
 '"The sheep industry of Alabama has
 suffered" he said. because we need
 here a sensible dog law, and We haven't got a representative with the backbone | of applause greeted this statement
 Dogs as the enemies of sheep were | mentioned briefly. To overcome the dan ger from dogs Professor Gray said. the l Sheen run should be arranged so that | the sheep can come to the main house
 whenever they are afraid. or whenever
 they are threatened by other animals. .They will always come, too,' he said.
 If lane is provided"
 | Professor Gray promised good returns
 from the sheep business If proper at- { tention is given its workings. He advised Nine purchase of Dorset or Southdown ),sheep z for Alabama. That variety he f saidlT will breed earlier in the season tbIn any other in the south
 W The lecturer told or an econoInlcai s,art
 d the sheep business, and exhibiting a Nchedule. showed where a gross profit
 fl s15o can be attained from an outlay
 If sl2o His plan for sheep business is Purchase 50 common or scrub ewes Wsnd one pure ram. In the summer. he Nsaid. Jet the eve have all the pasture
 Ahe> wants. and the pasturage the year
 round is to be supplemented with a corr
 feed Fifty lambs is an average re- N
 tFreci Free