The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-10-26
THE MENACE OF BOIL WEEVIL.
Losses of From 20 to 80 Per Cent. in
Louisiana and South Mississippi.


western Louisiana; by 1910 every
part Of the State was infested. In
1904 Louisiana produced 1889, ,526
bales Of cotton; in 1910 the State
produced 245,64S bales. In 1904,
Mississippi's biggest cotton year, the
State produced 1,7S9,000 bales; in
1915, with the weevil in every coun-
ty in the State, the total production
was only 953,965 bales. From 1904,
Louisiana's best year, to 1909, her
worst year after the arrival of the
weevil, We have loss of S45, 200
bales, or IT'S per cent.
The thirty-third parallel of lati:
tude is the northern boundary of
Louisiana and, as the writer has pre-
viously pointed out, it is south of this
line in Texas, Louisiana and Missis-
sippi that weevil damage has been
heaviest. In the counties of Missis-
sipi lying south of the thirty-third
parallel of latitude, cotton production
in 1904 was 749,S49 bales; by 1915
his had fallen to 17O,572 bales, or
loss of 77.3 per cent-almost exact
ly the percentage of decrease shown
in Louisiana.
Alabama and Georgia south of par
allel 33 possess climatic conditions
practically the same as. those OF
Louisiana and Observation-Disclosures
rainfall is about the same and winter
Temperatures are about the same.
Moreover, differences in soils, land
tenure and methods of farming are
very slight. Hence it would not seem
unreasonable or illogical to assume
that the history of the boil weevil in
Louisiana and Mississippi south OF
parallel 33 may be accepted as an in
dex as to what may be expected in
Alabama and Georgia in the same
latitude. Now let us apply the aver
age percentage (77.4 of decrease in
Louisiana and Mississippi to Alaba-
ma and Georgia south of parallel 33
and see what the results are.
Bib Losses in Louisiana and Missis-
sippi.
!, Alabama's big cotton year was
1914, when the State produced L.
751,375 bales. The same year the
Alabama counties lying south OF par
allel 33 grew 1,O47,650 bales. Now If
these counties their worst year with
the. weevil lose in production as did
similar territory in Louisiana and
Mississippi, production will be only
22.e per cent. of 1914, or 236,76S
bales-a loss of S1O,8S1 bales. AS
matter of fact, while exact reports are
not yet available, indications are that
even this year the, Alabama counties
under consideration have fallen to
total yield not very far above $780,
900 bales.
Turning to Georgia, we find that
in 1911, the States year of biggest
cotton production, there was total
yield of 2,76s,627 bales, and that
south of parallel SO, 1,41S,592 bales
were produced. Now, if production
in the Georgia counties lying south
of parallel 80 is cut as heavily as was
the case in Louisiana and Mississippi,
the crop will be only 22.6 per cent. OF
that of 1911, or 320,e01 bales-a loss
of 1,O97,991 bales.
In attempting to arrive at any con-
clusions in regard to probable dam
age in South Carolina, certain out
of-the-ordinary climatic factors are
met with. If, as in the states to the
west, only comparatively light dam
age may be expected north of paral-
lei s3. then South Carolina farmers
need worry little about the weevil, for
very little cotton is grown in this
State south of this line.
Heavy Damage Probable in South
Carolina.
But, because of the influence of the
nearby ocean, that belt of South
Carolina lying between parallels 33
and "a has conditions that would
lead us to expect decidedly heavier
weevil damage than has occurred be-
tween these parallels in the States to
the west. For instance, United States
weather bureau reports show that the
mean winter December, January and
February temperatures in South
Carolina south of parallel "a average
AZ degrees, while summer (June, Ju-
" and August) rainfall averages IT.
inches. In Mississippi between par
allels SO and 80, the mean winter
temperature is AIS degrees, and the
average summer rainfall 1928
inches; and between parallels 30 and
81, 1913 degrees and 1850 inches.
Thus, while mean winter tempera-
M eo,1$h Nf