Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1913-10-24
LETTER FROM Mr.. SMITH.

we Gail dbJCIlIlOli W Gu6 lcIIcI u
Mr.. Geo. d. Smith, who is entomol
ogist in charge of the Government
station at Tallulah, to Mr.. w. NJ
Davidson, which we publish below
The importance of taking every
step TO minimize the infestation Of
boil weevil which may be expected
next year cannot be too strongly OF
frequently impressed on our plant
ers. The disastrous experience Of
this year certainly would spur or
every man to strenuous effort tC
destroy every vestige of food now
left in the fields for the weevil
AS Mr.. Smith well points out ma.
ture has assisted us in the most
marked degree by sending the cot.
ton worm to defoliate the plant and
thus destroy most of the pests food
All that remains is the unopened
bolls and if these are destroyed by
cutting and burning the the stalks
there is nothing but starvation fol-
the weevil.
An important matter of Mr..
Smiths letter is that he is of opin-
ion that on account of the peculiar
conditions existing from the pres
ence of the cotton worm and its
work in eating the leaf that cutting
and burning stalks may be done
with excellent results until Novem.
Der Is. We trust that the advice in
the letter will be followed. The let.
ter is as follows:
Tallulah, La, October %, 1913.
Mr.. w. VI. Davidson,
st. Joseph, La.
Dear Sir-Y our letter of this date max,
ing inquiry concerning stalk destruction
has come to hand. am very glad you
wrote me on this point, as it is one of the
most important phases of the weevil fight
presume the cotton fields in your par.
ish have all been practically defoliated a:
is the case in Madison. Under such con-
ditions the adult weevils in the fields art
forced to migrate in search of green cot
ton for food, leaving only the immature
weevil stages in the unopened bolls to
emerge. These weevils will emerge dur
ing the month OF November if the plants
are not destroyed and the great majority
of them will pass the winter in the i'm
mediate vicinity Of the fields thus furn-
| ishing a supply of weevils for next season.
OF course l realize the impracticability OF
getting the plants destroyed in some cases
However, wherever possible would Ger.
tainly destroy the plants as soon as the
cotton is gathered. Nature has done more
to assist in controlling the weevil this fall
than ever before in the history of the
weevil invasion, and with little HELM
from the planters there is no reason why
every plantation should not be practical
ly free from weevils next June if the
weevils in the unopened bolls are de-
stroyed by the middle of next month. |
would advise that you have your stalk
cutters follow the cotton pickers and as
soon as cut or field is picked have the
plants cut down and burned as soon as
possible. With the admit weevils driven
from the fields by the cotton caterpillar
and only few immature weeviIs to
emerge, thorough stalk destruction
should give you practical immunity from
weevil damage until after the middle of
next August, the regular migratory pc
riod OF the weevil. There is no doubt but
that the destruction of the foliage by the
cotton worm will exert great controll-
ing influence on the weevil and the only
thing that is necessary to make it COM
plete is to destroy the stalks now stand
ing in the fields by the 10th or middle of
next month.
wish to emphasize again the fact that
the adult weevils now in the fields will
not pass through the winter, as they will
die from starvation before Information
time, thus leaving only the weevils that
have not Matched to furnish the supply
that will hibernate during the winter. If
the plants are destroyed now you should
not be bothered with weevils next year.
l hope to be in st. Joseph in the near
future and will be glad to go over any of
these matters with you.
Very truly yours,
GEO. ID. SMITH. In Charge