Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1913-09-19
Growing Cotton Under
Boil Weevil Conditions.
Agricultural Commissioner Haddon Writes OF Conditions in Louis
lana Where the Weevi Has Flourished Nine Years

lumbia Long Staple. Mebane'S Triumph
and Hastings Money Maker. The long
staple cotton Is as good as any / saw,
and seemed to have matured its crop n
early.
5. They cultivate very shallow and al
often as once week, and some told u:
they cultivate twice d week and keep
this up until the cotton begins to open.
4. As soon as the cotton is thinnef
they pick the weevils out of the buds Of
the young plants, and after the squares
begin to form, fallen squares and dead
and fared ones are gathered up once a
week till the middle of July to August
10th. Some keep 1t up longer than 9TH
ers / think Mr.. Calhoun had the best
cotton we were in and he picked squares
till August 1st.
5. This is the key to the whole thing.
THEY HAVE QUIT BUYING CORN. They
have two year rotation, but ir beats
none at all. What advantage have they
over US? Only one. Their land is much
richer. but tht best cotton we saw was
on land that does not grow extremely
large stalks. What advantages over
them have WEI Many. The trees there
are loaded with tree moss, which, it
seems, would be an excellent alternating
place for the weevils. We have more
open land and in larger bodies We are
nearly two degrees north Of them. Our
lime lands mature cotton esrlier. They
are in a good live stock country. but
not so good as we have. We alraedy
have the county stocked with good
grade of dairy cows; quite number Of
farmers are independent of cotton be-
cause they are well started in the dairy
business; others are marketing hay;
some are making good incomes from
bees; quite number are already pre-.
pared and equipped for beef production;
we have home market at the Macon
Creamery for an unlimited supply of
dairy produce, and we can easily be-
come large producers of lespedeza and
mellilotus seed. Lands in the section
of Louisiana we visited have doubled in
value since the invasion of the weevil,
and lands here are going to do more
than that in the next eight years in
spite of the weevil.
Noxubee county can grow rich and
never plant another seed of cotton. We
are in class to ourselveS-we are apart
from any other county in Mississippi
our chances for success are better. We
can grow cotton proRtably and we are
going 90 daials Many arc going TO fail,
but It viii be because thay are still
looking to cotton to do as much for
chem as it has done. If you are going
70 grow cottop (and most Of you should)
right now is the time to select your
cotton land and begin work on it. The
Louisiana people do no fall work for
;he next crop, but they would make
more cotton by doing fall work.
We passed through Col. Maxwell's
farm just across the river from Vicks-
burg. 1t is a beautifully kept planta-
ion (Col. Maxwell is one of the larg-
,st cotton planters in the South Ev-
Try ditch bank is as clean as row.
Every tenant house is white. Every
'ow of corn has peas growing in it, and
he cotton is well fruited except in the
op. 1t is pleasure to look out across
llmost endless fields of corn and great |
ields of cotton, where the land is grow
ng crops not mixed with weeds. vines
md coo leburs. 1t shows intelligence,
ystem and personal attention.
J. w. HADDoN,
Agri Com. Noxubee County.