The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-11-30
TOUR OF WEEVIL SECTION.
MIR. Edward A. Eve Describes Trip
to Territory Attacked by Enemy.


Mr.. Edward A. Eve, of Charleston,
has written the following interesting
account of his tour by automoDl!e
through cotton boil weevil territory:
Having just returned from an 500
mile auto trip through Georgia and
South Alabama. where spent an en-
tire week studying the effects of the
boil weevil and the remedies being
resorted to, l feel that l have accu-
mulated some first-hand information
which should be of benefit to every
farmer in South Carolina.
Instead of going from city to city,
hearing and making speeches. | went
direct to the farms in nineteen coun-
ties of Georgia and nine counties OF
Alabama, and saw conditions with
my own eyes, and heard dozens OF
farmers tell how the boil weevil had
wiped out>their cotton crop and how
many of them are now recovering
and becoming more prosperous than
ever before. It would take a book
to hold all the interesting things
that saw and learned about diversi-
fed farming and stock raising in the
once chastened but finally blessed
boil weevil ridden counties, and l
could write another book about the
wonderful roads through these coun-
ties that enabled me to cover SOO
miles in a Ford car with positive
comfort and pleasure during the six
days that l was making these investi-
cations.
But, for many reasons, my narra-
tive must only touch the high places
in this inspiring journey.
Starting from my old home, Beech
Island, in Aiken county, in company
with seven of my boyhood compan-
ions, who are now the leading cotton
planters in that part of the country,
we cranked up two trusty Fords, and
crossed the Savannah river early
Monday morning. We paused in Au-
gusta to tank up and make minor re-
pairs; and then We made dash for
Macon, where we spent the first night.
This first run of 130 miles brought
us well into the region of "irst-year-
infestation. The Bibb county dem
onstration agent told us that he al
most regretted to say that the weevil
had done practically no damage to
this years cotton crop. Consequent
ly, the farmers were still blind to
the havoc that the weevil is bound
to play next season, and were de-
termined to plant one more big cot
ton crop. He knew what was in
store for them and was working like
a Big Ben alarm clock to warn them;
but he seemed to be almost despond-
ent as to results. The lure OF ~
cent cotton was simply insurmount-
able.
The next day We took southwest
erly direction and gradually pene-
trated deeper and deeper into the in
fected region. Soon after we passed
the peach belt and got back to where
cotton was the principal crop, the et-
fects of the weevil began to be ap-
parent. The fields everywhere were
covered with fine stalks, but the up
per half of these stalks was bare OF
fruit. The yield was about half what
it would have been under normal
conditions. This was the beginning
of the region of second-year-lnfesta
ton. and the weevils had multiplied
enough to be destructive only during
the latter part of last summer. A
little further, however, the destruc-
ton was almost complete in many
fields where the greatest diligence
had not been observed in fighting the
weevil early in the season. Most OF
the farmers in this region were in
desperate condition. The previous
cotton crop had been short and had
been sold for a poor price, and this
crop had put them still further IN
debt. They were discouraged about
planting cotton, and they did not
have the necessary experience or cap
ital to start at anything else.
At Fort Gaines we crossed over
the Chattahoochee into Alabama, and
reached the thriving town of Dothan
by night. Here conditions steadily
got worse, as far as the cotton crop
was concerned, and almost every cot
ton field was bare of fruit with the
execution of few bolls near the bot
toms of the stalks.
These counties that had made over
900 bales two years ago will not
l,s1