Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1914-01-14
THE BOIL wEEvIL's RAvAGEs.
What this Country Has Lost and the
Future Prospect.

ted States in excess Of 100000
! bales, which, at a value OF only $50
a bale, represents financial loss OF
0.000,000 This is only the loss
! in areas actually planted. The re-
duction in the production Of cotton
/ due to the fact that farmers refrain
: cd from planning because of the fear
! that the wecvil would not allow the
plant to mature can never be esti-
, mated.
These and other interesting facts
and statistics concerning the boil
wecvil are given in Il little pocket
! pamphlet Just issued by Director w.
J. Harris, of the Census Bureau, De-
partmcnt Of Commerce.
Damage to Crops by States.
| Mississippi-In seven selected
counties Of Mississippi the produc-
tion Of cotton in 1907 amounted to
! l91,790 bales, valued at nearly Sill
! 100000. The boil weevil reduced
! this production to S9,577 bales in
! 1909; to 61,432 bales in 1910; to
37,S16 bales in 1911; and to 80
500 bales in 1912. The aggregate
production for the four years
; amounted to 219,634 bales, valued at
approximately $14,6OO,O0O. Had the
crop Of 1907 been produced for each
of these years the aggregate would
have exceeded 767 900 bales, valued
at about $4S,6O0,000. Many farm
ers in these counties abandoned en-
tirely the attempt to produce cotton
The majority of the farm laborers
have been thrown out Of employment
and emigrated to other places.
Louisiana - LouiSiana's largest
cotton crop, 1,OS9,526 bales, was
grown in 1904. The production was
reduced to 245,64S bales in 1910.
This great loss was due principally
to the ravages of the boil weevil. In
ten Of the large cotton-producing
parishes the crop amounted to 256,-
O1S bales, valued at 100000,
during the year Immediately preced-
ing the advent of the weevil in each
production of these ten parishes for
the following four years amounted
to only 211 ,253 bales, valued at ap-
proXimately 13,50O,OOO. Had the
production equaled that of the year
preceding the coming of the weevil.
| it would have amounted to 1,024,O72
bales, valued at $65, 900. The
! loss to the cotton growers in these
ten parishes, attributed very largely
! to the boil weevil, amounted to more
than $50, 100000 for the four years
! Misunderstanding 1906, 1907 and
| 1908 the boil weevil was dispersed
over an area covering about one
! third Of the State OF Arkansas In
four selected counties Of the State
| the crop for 1906 amounted to 49,
! 426 bales. BY 1909 the crop of
these counties had been reduced by
the weevil to 26,962 bales, and in
! 1910 it was 35,496 bales. The ag-
/ gregate value of these two crops was
about $4,500,0O0, whereas had each
I equaled the crop Of 1906 the cotton
for these counties would have
brought into them more than $1O.-
| 100000.
TeXas-The boil weevil first ap-
peared in the State Of Texas in 1892,
and during the next Is years caused
an enormous loss in the cotton crop
OF the State. In seven counties Sc
lected in the northeast section of the
! State the production in 1906 amount
ed to 232,063 bales This was re-
duced to 114,701 bales in 1907; to
l53,347 bales in 1908, and to 145,-
1852 bales in 1909. The aggregate
value OF the three crops in these
counties amounted to about $24,OOO,-
600. If the production Of 1906 had
been maintained the value would
| have been approximately $4O,0OO,-
| 600.
Probable Effect in Areas Threatened.
Alabama-The boil weevl now
covers the southern portion Of Ala
Dama. Selecting six counties in the
eastern part Of the State, which are
in the direct path Of the weevil, the
production during five years has
amounted to 772,325 bales, which
sold for about $45, 100000. If the
ravages of the weevil In these coun-
ties should result in reducing the
production in the same proportion
as in the selected counties in Missis-
sippi, the cotton produced during the
four seasons following the spread Of