Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-05-30
farm and firrsiat.
The Boil WeeviI Is Comma.

pest will in due time come to them.
In the second place, they must realize
as fully as possible the exact results
which the coming of the boil weevil
produces. Not only must they appre-
ciate it's effect on the growing of cot
ton, but they must also understand the
broader effect on the general business
and farming methods of the commu-
nifty
Because it is almost impossible to
get the masses of the people to be-
lieve, appreciate and understand these
facts, as they actually exist or have
existed in other sections, no section
has yet been known fully to prepare
for the boil weevil, or for any similar
pest.
We have little hope, therefore, OF
convincing the farmers of the whole
cotton belt, not yet invaded by the
boil weevii, that it is as certain to
come to them and bring with it train
of perplc-ing difficulties such as they
probably have never been called upon
to meet as death and taxes" are
certain to come to them. But without
any desire to unduly alarm or to
state anything but the useful truth
we are thoroughly convinced that the
boil weevil will invade the entire
cotton belt. This is not an idle spec
ulation, nor what we wish were true;
but it is the only logical conclusion to
be drawn from what is known of the
pest and it's conduct up to this time
Wherever the winters are too long or
too cold for the boil weevil, the sum-
mers are too short for the successful
cultivation of cotton. About two years
ago the writer was in the western part
of a county in western Mississippi
where the boil weevil had done great
damage to the cotton crop and the
people were greatly and rightfully
alarmed. The next day we visited the
eastern part of the same county. A
few boil weevils were there also, but
not in sufficient numbers to do much
harm. The fact that they were there
but still had done little damage, caused
many otherwise intelligent farmers to
state that they did not believe the boil
weevil would ever do much harm in
that section. A year later, however
these men were convinced of the alb
surdity of their reasoning, and all
other cotton growers who are going
along in the old way in the false Sc
curity of such a belief are due to ex-
perience a rude awakening.
There is orly one safe and sane
and that is that the boil
weevil will invade the entire cotton
belt. Any other conclusion is not
based on known facts and simply
means greater disaster than is neces-
sary.
Not only will the boil weevil invade
the entire cotton belt east of the Mis-
sissippi river, but it will do sufficient
damage to the cotton crop to make
marked changes in our system of
and in our business methods
absolutely necessary.
If it be accepted that the boil Wee
vii will continue his march eastward
and northward until the whole cotton
belt is covered, then the next most in
teresting question to those living in
the territory not yet invaded is: What
will he do when he does come ?
Judging from what he has done in the
territory already invaded he will for
several years reduce the cotton crop to
from one-half to one-tenth its present
size. In some counties in Mississippi
and Louisiana he has caused a much
greater reduction than 80 per cent.
Counties that produce from 10000 to
$4,000 bales have gone down to from
l 900 to 5000 bales. In the whole state
of Louisiana the average crop for the
five years 1900 to 1904 inclusive, be-
fore the appearance of the boil weevil,
was about $4,000 bales, and for the
years 1908 to 1910 inclusive, since the
coming of the boil weevil, the crop
has averaged $4,000 bales. In other
words, for the last three years the
average crop has been about 3S per
cent of the average crop for the five
years, 1900 to 1904 inclusive. That
this decrease in the crop is not due
entirely to a decreased acreage is
shown by the fact that the acreage
for the years 1908 to 1910 inclusive,
was a little over 20 per cent of the
acreage for the years 1900 to 1904 in
elusive. In other words, a decrease of
less than 80 per cent in acreage, plus
the damage done by the boil weevils,
resulted in a decrease of 62 per cent
in the crop.
From these figures it is plain that
the coming of the boil weevil to Louis
lana made cotton growing less profita-
BILE. An interesting fact may be stated
in this connection, as throwing some
light on one of the means employed in
Louisiana to compensate for the de-
creased cotton production:
In 1900 the corn crop was valued al
$12,000,000 and the cotton crop at $35,
100000. In 1910 the corn crop was
valued at $35,OOO,OOO and the cotton
crop at sl5,OOO,OOO.
Stated briefly, the boil weevil les
sens very materially tie yield of cot
ton per acre, and since this makes
the crop less profitable, the acreage is
also decreased.
These effects are more marked fol
the first two or three years after the
coming of the weevils and then the
acreage and yield per acre will prob
ably gradually increase for a time al
least.
Texas is now producing as much
cotton and about as much per acre
as before the coming of the boil wee
vii, but a part of the recovC.y in Texas
is due to the opening up of cotton
lands previously thought too dry fol
cotton and so dry as to be unfavorable
for the boil weevils. Apart from these
conditions, however, there is no doubt
that after two or four years the people