The Cordele dispatch. (Cordele, Ga.) 19??-1971, 1917-10-07
! Letters Go Out To
Cotton Growers
BY j. Az JOHNSON

the cotton crop was in the making
there were comparatively few Weev
| wills, but they have increased and are
recruiting full forces now to march
upon US early next spring with num-
bers that will demand our veEy best
efforts to control them, even ~gfssH IN
acreage much smaller than our ac
reage this year.
There have been excellent efforts
pat forth in this country this year to
bold back the weevil and to push the
cotton forward In every field where
the insect showed up and where the
method of picking up and destroying
the squares was practiced beneficial
and telling results followed. In some
fields the weevils were actually clear
ed out by careful and painstaking
work in observation and square gath
ering. In other fields the ravages of
the pest were retarded so that a fair
crop was set before the insects got
numerous enough to take the crop or
before time to cease picking the
squares.
l am writing this to you as a di-
rect personal appeal to endeavor 10
induce you to put forth your best eff
forts to do completely and we'll that
part of the weeyiI fight most import
re- al s,, e ,ft7l
boil weevil control. You cannot plan
your defense too early. There is no
ant as the destruction of the stalks,
other one operation in connection
with boil weevil control as import
and for this to be effective the de-
struction MUST BE at least three
weeks before frost. There is no
reason why practically all the stalks
in this section cannot be either turn
ed under or ripped up to stop the
growth in time to- allow a lapse of
fully q days before frost.
Your good Judgement will convince
you that this is a most timely thing
to do The object in destroying the
stalks is a two fold one;
% To deprive the adult weevil
of food and breeding places, (2) To
kill the vast number of weevil eggs,
grubs and jumpers contained in the
squares and immature bols at this
time. You readily see that if the
stalks are destroyed in ample time
no squares or young bolls can be laid
in so breeding will stop.
The methods of destruction of stalk
are many so no real difficulty should
be met in getting at this all import
ant thing to be done at this time Pro
badly the least effective method prac-
ticed by some farmers is the attempt
to destroy the stalks by grazing with
cattle. This should never be tried |
unless there are enough COWS to be |
turned on a field to absolutely clean |
up the field of stalks i'll a weeks time |
Some advocate the cutting ond burn |
ing Of stalks, but tins is not thoro
enough and besides there is q great |
distinctions of organic matter needed |
for the soil When a ton of dry mat
ter in stalks is burned a fartilizing |
value of So is destroyed, besides The /
value of it as a vegetable matter in
the soil Circumstances, after all, |
must determine in each case the most |
practcaol and egective means of do
ing this. One of the very best meth
| DDS, but one that can hardly be car
ried out fully on our large cotton ac-
reage this year, is that Of turning the |
stalks under with two horse and a
larger plOws to a depth of not less
than four inches double chain
may be attached for tall rank stalks
and single chain for smaller stalks.
In some cases it may be practical to
run a weighted disc harrow with the
discs set as angling as possible over
the stalks and then burst up the
stalks with two-horse middle burst
er and leave the land this way all
winter. If it should be found impos-
sible to turn the stalks under on all
the cotton land, it would be nothing
amiss to remove the wing from a two
horse pillow and rip up the stalks in
order to step the growth of the plants.
The sun will parch the leaves and
squaser and untold good will be done
by this practice in helping with an
other cotton crop. The dead stalks
on the ground thus left can be cut |
| later with a stalk cutter. THE ALL !
| IMPORTANT THING Is TO DE |
STROY THE GROWING PLANTSOR |
STOP THE GROWTH AS SOON AS |
| THE COTTON CAN BE PICKED |
AND AS MUCH AS THREE WEEKS |
BEFORE EROS.
If this single instruction to destroy |
cotton stalks in the fall while still |