Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-09-20
HOW TO FIGHT
THE BOIL WEEV|L
FRISCO EXPERT GIVES FARMERS
GOOD ADVICE
Oklahoma Has Almost Exterminated
the Pest by Following Mr.. Dial's
Directions -Messrs. Sprague and
Waters Gave Interesting Talks.

IlSCO system, WHO gave the main
address to large gathering OF
farmers at the Little Indiana school
house Wednesday night, in the
course Of his lecture, said that he
believed that by cutting all Of the
standing cotton in the field and
burning these cut stalks which had
been placed in windrows and by
later planting in the spring, the cot
ton farmers of the Valley would gel
rid of at least ninety per cent of the
boil weevil pest which has ravaged
their cotton fields so numerically
this year
In the beginning Of his lecture,
Mr. Dial said that he had been asked
by B. F. Yoakum, head of the Frisco
System, to come to the Valley and
take up with the farmers here a
plan for combating the boil weevil
and that Mr.. Yoakum had further
said if enough interest was shown
in the trying out Of methods to that
end he would employ Mr. Dial in the
capacity of organizer and advisor to
the farmers for the forthcoming
year. Mr.. Dial in speaking of the
possibility Of his taking up the fight
with the farmers this next year, said
that he would want to shoulder all
the responsibility of any advice in
regards to seed, planting, cultiva-
ton, ect., which he might give to
the farmers.
The expert said that from his OBJ
servations and what he had learned
rom the farmers he believed the
yreatly increased number Of weevil
n the fields this season was due to
he heavy rains which fell early ir
he growing season and the failure
On the part of the growers to cut
down the perennial plants starting
in the early spring. These perennial
plants afford the very young weevil
coming out of its winter alternating
a safe protection and pasturage,
until the new cotton attains suf-
ficient growth to protect the delicate
insect from the suns rays.
The best method to be used in
clearing the fields Of cotton stalks in
he fall, Mr.. Dial believes, would be
the placing of all the fallen stalks
n green rows" or narrow rows of
talks left standing, and by leaving
this green food for feeding purposes
the boil weevil will collect there and
could later easily be burned and
killed. BY this comparatively sim
ple method Mr. Dial, as quoted
lbove, said that he was sure fully
seventy-fve per cent of the entire
tribe of boil weevills would be de-
troyed
He assured his hearers that.
roughly, ninety per cent Of the boil
veevils could be killed by the burn
ing of the stalks and late planting
in the spring. He said that it had
been satisfactorily demonstrated in
Oklahoma that, simply by concerted
action on the part Of all the growers
in section in the matter of burn
ing all standing cotton stalks in the
fall, the number Of weevils were re-
duced seventy-fve per cent, while,
Of the twenty-five per cent remain
ing at least fifteen per cent, it has
been found, die in the hibernating
stage being unable to withstand the
winter. BY late planting, for in
stance from March | to Is, the
weevils living through the winter
and coming out in the spring would
have little or no young cotton upon
which to subsist.
Methods of Cultivation.
Going into the methods of prepa-
ration of the soil. cultivation and
selection of seed, Mr. Dial said that
the soil should be broken and pre-
pared at least four months before