The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1910-08-19
M~ISSISSIPPIANS
OVERSEEING.
Boil Weevil One Cause Of Turn to
Other Crops.

"A uoW era Has udWucu III N1i0 /
sissippi-an era of progress and
prosperity, in which cotton, which
has been the chief agricultural
product of one of the richest States
in the Union, will not play SO i'm
portant . part in the future, says
q correspondent of the Memphis
Commercial.
The boil weevil, of course, is re-
sponsible for this. 1t required
disaster to teach the people of Mis-
sissippi that they were sleeping on
their rights and wasting their time,
to a large extent, at least, and with
the advent of the boil weevil, the
farmer is turning to Investigation,
cattle and hog raising, which will
enhance land values so to 100 per
cont. in tho next five years.
Hereafter cotton must divide
first honors with wheat, corn, cattle
and hogs, to say nothing of the
constantly increasing trucking in
forests and dairy farming, which is
taking a strong hold upon the far.
mers in the weevil infected districts
Of the State. Heretofore the far
mers of Mississippi looked entirely
to cotton for money. They would
not plant any crop that would have
to be harvested before fall. Cotton
was strictly a fall and winter har-
vesting crop, and the average far
mer was satisfied if he received
enough money from his cotton to
pay the interest on the mortgage on
his farm.
Then came an era of prosperity
for the cotton farmer. High prices
enabled him to pay off the mort
gage and he had a good bank &C.
count. He believed he had come
into his own, and more cotton was
planted. There was a scarcity Of
labor, which was a drawback to the
cotton planter for a time, but he
continued to plant more cotton
than he could gather. Then came
the boil weevil. Fertile lands were
allowed to lie idle because it was
not considered good cotton land
The farmer never thought of plant
ing a thing but cotton. Grass grew
on it, but with q good, cotton !crel
and high prices, the farmer paid NJ
attention to this, as be was paying
: out his cotton money for hay anC
corn in the West. The Western
farmer was continually growing
rich off of the Mississippi farmer
cotton crop, but the latter was sat
isfed, as his life was n long
sweet song of pleasure. Then Their
was a day of reckoning. The weevi
began to destroy the cotton, tn
= crop was short and money becomin!
scarcer every year.
!, Something had to be done, AM
done quickly. The farmer looke'
around, studied his soil, read gov
ernment bulletins, hearkened to- tn
, advice of the Mississippi Agricul
tural and Mechanical College, stud
!, led the bulletins issued from tn
experiment station, and began t
plant crops the boil weevil coul'
not destroy. The farmer, in des
!, peration, turned to wheat, oats
6 corn, cattle and hogs. There wa
no concerted movement in this di
rection, but the more intelligent
thinking farmers realized tina
something must be done to saw
, himself from further and heavie
, losses. The result is that NOR
{ corn will be gathered in Mississippi
3 this year than at any time in til
history of the State. And it i
good corn, too-just as good as on
will find in a weeks travel throug
:, the corn belt of Indiana, Missouri:
illinois, Iowa and other Wester
States.
> After planting his corr crop, tn
farmer decided he could raise hog
for his own meat, and as a: resul
!, of this more meat will be produce
in Mississippi this year than eve
known. Experiments we're mad
: with wheat, oats and other cereals
: with the result that this fall man
9 thousand acres of land, that hav
formerly produced only cotto1
7 weeds or grass, will be planted
0 cereals. The experiments twere
: revelation to the old farmers, all {
sE