The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-02-14
HOW TO FIGHT TlTE BOIL WEE
VII.

rler: Numbers Of the bankers, mcr-
chants and farmers of the State are
aroused TO the danger Of the advarc-
ING boil wecvil, but many OF thrr,
have no definite and easily followed
program, which will provo effective
, in making the situation livable when
, the weevil arrives. Any crop rotation
! proposed must take into account rent
ers and share troopers, who are a ma
1ority of our farmers. and it must at
the same time appeal to the large
iandholder whose active cooperatiori Il
will be absolutely necessary. Every
authority on the subject agrees, first
! mat the cotton crop should be ro-
| duced; second, that food crops Should
! De increased; third, that the soil
should lie enriched, before the wee
VII arrives. The increased food crops
should, of course, be readily markets
able, and should afford the maximum
Improvement to the soil. I believe we
have one crop-the 80 or 1O0-day vol
vet bean which is admirably suited
10 this purpose, and propose the fol-
lowing recipe for the one-horse ten
ant farmer, which may be readily
adapted to use by farmers Of any size
The average one-horse farmer nov.
| plants say twenty acres of cotton ana
four acres of grain (corn and oats.)
Let his merchant and landlord insist
on his planting this year six acres
or more Of corn and eighteen acres or
less of cotton. In the six acres o;
corn insist that he plant early velvet
beans. 81
Next year Q91S) have him PART
nine acres of corn with velvet beans
and fifteen acres OF cotton. Six acres
OF these fifteen will be behind the pre-
vious years volvet bean crop and VIII
require no fertilizer, except acid phos-
phate or ground phosphate rock, cost
ing 81 to IS per acre.
In 1919 the corn and velvet bean
crop should be increased to twelve
acres and the cotton reduced to twelve
acres nine of which will be behind
the previous years velvet beans and
require but small outlay for fer
tilizer.
In 1920 tie cotton acreage may rc-r
main at twelve acres and the otl;e,.
twelve should again be put into corn
and beans and each year thereafter
the cotton will follow the bean crop.
and the beans follow the cotton crop.
a cover crop of Abruzzi rye. or In
some cases crimson clover shoald
each year be put in the cotton
While the boil weevil may bcsex
pacted to arrive here within two yeSrs.
it is probable that his maximum de-.
agc will not come before 1920
this scheme IS foiiowcta e. - ,
acreage will by then All bs upons fsna
which has the previous year produced
the finest Of humns and n;trofen
crops-velvct beans-the fertil er re-
auirement being less than so per cent
OF that now considered necessary
Upon such land and with such fer
tiiizing we may, by following the gov
ernmcnt recipe for the production o
cotton under boil wecvil conditions.
expect to make at least as much-ca
ton per acre as is now being made
with moderate fertilizing the disn
may be expected to make not less than
ten bushels per acre and the beam
not less than fifteen bushels. Three
hundred bushels of grain is now more
than half the value of the product
of the average twentv-four acres re Mt
ed Or share cropped. and is quite eqiia'
in value to the average cotton cror
upon the same acreage
1t will in most cases lie necessary
to plant for horse feed about two acres
in oats followed by peas or beans to
each twenty-four-acre crop. This wll
| come out Of the corn and velvet bear
acreage and will not interfere with
the efficiency of the scheme. If~tu-
! baccO is planted it should come out q,
the cotton acreage.
The worst infested boil wecvi!
areas in South Georgia, Alabama and
Mississippi are now using this Vclvc:
bean profitably. The farmers claim
| that they can raise from twenty to
thirty bushels per acre Of beans besides
! an average corn crop. Wherever they
are being raised in any quantity oi!
mills and merchants have prepared
themselves to grind them for feed an
the farmers, | understand, ere rece'N
! ing about $40 per ton for them in tn.
: hull. We ourselves. this year p,ant,,
! hfty-rinc acroS Of these beans in corr