The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-06
.SOUTHERN'S WORK
 ON BOIL WEEVIL
President Finley Has Taken Up the Fight in a Very Systematic Way

1 President Finley of the Southern Rail-
 way company. realizing the possibility of
 the further spread of the Mexican cot
 ton boil weevil to the eastward, is taking
 steps to advise farmers in the territory
 along the lines of the Southern Railway
 cen pany, Alabama Great Southern Rail-
 road company, the Mobile and Ohio Rail-
 road company and the Georgia Southern
 and Florida Railway company, in locali- 1 ties to which there is even remote pos sibility that the weevil may spread. as to the methods that must be adopted for ! maintaining cotton production under boil weevil conditions. Farmers west of the Miss issippi river. where the weevil has been present for several years, have learned how to grow cotton successfully in spite of it's presence. They have
 learned this lesson generally at the cost of short crops for two or three years.
 In the fall of last year President Finley
 organized a cotton culture department,
 in charge of T. o. Plunkett, with head
 quarters at Chattanooga, Tenn, with
 seven field agents to work in those locaI-
 tiles where it is possible that the weevil
 may eventually appear. MT Plunkett and all of the agents of this department have
 had practical experience in the growing
 of cotton under boil weevil conditions
 All of the expenses of the cotton culture department are borne by the participating railways and the services of its agents are absolutely free to all farmers along the lines of these railways.
 The work of this department has been so successful and the services of it's agents have been so highly appreciated | by the farmers that President Finley has determined to extend the work further | eastward.
 | R. E. Grabel has been appointed agent
 of the cotton department at Macon. Ga.
 to work along the line of the Southern
 railway between Macon and Brunswick.
 and along the Georgia Southern and
 Florida railway in Georgia and North Florida Four additional agents are to
 be employed for work along the lines of
 the Southern railway, the Alabama Great 1 Southern railroad. and the Mobile and l ohio railroad. In central and eastern 1 Alabama Unless circumstances should | make some other arrangement advisable
 tfese agents will have their headquarters at Attalla, Anniston, Tuscaloosa and Ma
 
 tical experience in growing cotton in boil Weevll territory and four other men with like experience are to be selected for the Alabama agencies. The. weevil has not spread to any of the localities to which these agents have been assigned and there is no reason to expect it's early appear
 ance in them. The purpose of estabish- ing the work in these localities is to en-
 able the farmers to be thoroughly pre-
 pared for the weevil if it shall at any time enter their fields.
 Fortunately, the cultural methods ad- vised by the cotton culture department are identicallY those which the late pr. S A. Knapp of the United States agri- cultural department recommended for in oreasing the production of cotton whether
 the weevi he present or not. Farmers throughout the cotton belt will, therefore. find it profitable to adopt these methods. even though the weevn may never spread | u their farms.
 | As a further step in aid of the work of 1 the cotton culture department, President l Finley has prepared circular letter in- cor porating Dr. Knapps advice, which l is being distributed to farmers in all cot l tor growing territory along the lines of
 the railways above mentioned. Farmers
 along the lines of these companies may obtain copies of this circular letter by addressing w. w. Finley, president of the Southern Railway company. Wash-
 bgton, D. C -