The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-03-25
Keeping the WeeyiIs Down.

To grow cotton proftably in spite of the
Weevils requires vigilance and labor, but it
all pays. The reason why weevils do nef
do so much damage after they have been
in section for some years is not that
they grow less active, but that farmers
learn how to fight them successfully and
hold them down. In newly invaded terri
tories they find virgin fields multiply rap
idly, and destroy practically all the crop.
After while farmers begin to clean their
fields in October or November, and adopt
other means that keep down the number
of the pest. Among the best means for
helping this years crop in each farmers
field, the first thing to be done this spring
is to pick the first weevils that appear and
destroy the first squares that fall to the
ground.
Il As the warm days of spring come on,
the Weevils that have been wintering in
brush wood, moss, under the barks of posts
ard trees and other places, come out, and
begin to feed on tender buds of the young
cotton plants. There they should be
picked off and killed. Every female wee
vii thus destroyed would produce thou
sands Of ,Weevils to destroy squares by
August if allowed to live. Also, the first
squares that fall should be gathered and
burned. This should be done twice a
week for three OF four weeks. Practically
every square contains the larva of a wee
vii which later in the season will add
thousands of other Weevils unless they are
destroyed.
E One of the great advantages Of this
part of the fight against weeviIs is that
each farmer gets the benefit OF his own
work. Weevils do not pass from one field
to another in any large number until the
August brood comes on and byethat time
the cotton crop must be made. Therefore,
gathering Weeyils from young plants and
picking and destroying squares helps to
hold the weevils down in ones own field
and tomake crop,
1t is needless to add that the farmer
should also take advantage of other means
that have been found successful in COM
batting the Weeyils, such as the use of seed
that fruits early, intensive shallow culti-
walton, the judicious use Of fertilizers, and
perhaps the use Of poison. Necessarily,
all such plans for making cotton under
boil Weeyil conditions require more labor
or heavier costs. but, with cotton bringing
from $40 to $50 bale, and cotton-seed
s&s25 per ton, we can afford to produce cot
ton at greater cost than could be done
When cotton sold at 6 to 8 cents. Dept
Agricultural Extension, Louisiana State
University
Rice Selling Association Organized.
Under the corporate name Of the Louis
lana State Rice Company. representatives
of eighteen of the strongest mills in Lou
siana organized at Lake Charles Saturday
a clean rice selling company with an au-
thorized capital stock Of $500 900, Of which
$4,000 has been paid. The organization
win be confined to Louisiana mills.
The object Of the organization is to buy
clean rice from mills and to sell it through
one head.
The officers and first board Of directors
are as follows: President, Frank A. God
chaux,of Abbeyiile; first vice president,
4A. Kaplan, of Crowley; second vice presi-
dent, c.. s. Morse, of Jennings; secretary,
b. Conoyer, of Lake Arthur; treasurer
a. C. Foster. OF Lake Charles; .. w
Meyers, of Rayne..= j. IIFrankeI, OF Crowley.
John Green, Of Crowley; Geo. Hathaway.
of Jennings.