St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1911-04-08

planted early, DuC most certainty
because the growth Of their
cotton was set back probably
from two to four weeks, so that
no squares were available for any
of the May weevils, or but a
small per centage of them, to
feed upon or in which to lay
their eggs, which very naturally
resulted in their absolute and
natural demise.
I maintain and assert without
laying myself liable to a success
full contradiction by either ex-
pert or layman, that If our sec
ton of the country had not been
blessed with that killing frost,
W h j h I unhesitatingly at
that time pronounced a blessing
in disguise, it is very doubtful if
my Bayou Rapides friends with
the progeny from all of their
May Weevils depredating and
propagating on their crop, es-
pecialIy in consideration of the
abnormally bad weather we had
later on Git rained almost con-
tinuously from June 20 to July
49, would have had any cotton at
at all to gather.
A few pertinent reasons why
cotton in Central and Southern
Louisiana should not be planted
before May 1:
LINK NO. /.
A careful study of the litera-
ture published by the Crop Pest
Commission of Louisiana and the
United States Department of
Agriculture treating on the
emergence of the boil weevil
from its Information quarters,
shows four tests or observations:
One in 1901, at Vienna, Texas,
with 2136 weevils; one in 1904,
st Victoria, Texas, with 698 wee
wills; one in 1905 at Keatchie, La,
with 1913 weevils; one in 1909,
at Mansura, La, with 1860 Wee
Wis.
Their emergence took place
as follows: In 1901, 2136-March
Is; April, 10; May, 1,951; June
-; in 1904, sos; March, lis;
April $50; May, 433; June, -;
1905, 1888; March, 80; April. 316;
May, 1874; June, 40; in 1909, g.
800; March, 812; April, 1878; May,
1856; June, 314. Total for four
years, 6,932: March, 981; April,
1,514; May, 4,074; June, 1853;
equal to IA. Is per cent in March,
21.84 per cent in April, 58.77 per
cent in May and ga per cent in
June; showing conclusively that
the bulk of the Weevils emerge
during the month of May,
amounting to four times as many
as come out in March, nearly
three times as many as in April,
and over eleven times as many
as come out in June.
INK NO. 2.
All the publications emanating
from our State and United States
authorities prove beyond the
question of a doubt that all wee
wills coming out of Information
live on an average, with or with
out food, only from Z to 1913
days; also that the weevils emerg-
ing early live longer than the
Weevils that come out late.
LINK NO. 8.
The same publications also es-
tablish the undisputed fact that
the weevils cannot lay their eggs
into anything but a cotton square,
and that they necessarily have to
have squares to eat for several
days before they are sexually
matured.
LINK NO. 4.
In Central and Southern Louis
lana cotton puts on squares about
six weeks after planting time.
If, therefore, no cotton is
planted before May I, not only
all of the 58.T per cent of the
Weevils coming out in May and
those coming out in March and
April, but also some of the 5.2
per cent coming out in June will
be so dead before the squares ap-
pear, that I would like to see off
cially some of the experts who
still have the effrontery to con-
tend for early planting, which is
SO VIGOROUSLY wrong, that even
DR.. S. A. Knapp could no longer
continue to perpetrate the in
justice of it on the unsuspecting
cotton planters.
DR.. Knapp's entirely new in
structions are contained in Circu-
lar B. P. I. No. GIG, published
by the Department of Agricul-
ture on January 10, 1911. The
Doctor is very outspoken therein,
and absolutely comes out for late
Every cotton planter
should write for that document,
and defer planting his cotton I'M
til he has made himself thorough
acquainted with all the new
recommended therein,
and particularly with the many
odrronfonoc duo 70 1o4n n1an+inm