The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1918-03-01
FREEZES and BOIL WEEVIL
No Reason to Believe that the Cotton
Pest Has Been Exterminated
Caution to Farmers.

extremely uIlWlSC IoA ~ooeOAA
to assume that the freezes Of the last
few weeks has exterminated the cot
ton boil weevil, says the Department
of Agriculture, in answer to many IN
quiries from the South.
During the past winter the temper
atures have been lower than at any
time since 1899, and there can hardly
be any doubt that this extreme cold
has reduced the numbers of weevlls
in many sections of the South. The
impression has been gained by many
planters that the weevil has been re-
duced to negligible numbers, II not
altogether exterminated. 1t is too
much to expect that the temperatures
have been uniformly cold enough to
absolutely exterminate the Weevll
from large areas. The records OF the
Department of Agriculture indicate
that there is at least from l to per
cent survival of the weevil in those
sections which have been thoroughly
studied as against normal of TO per
cent survival This percentage OF
surviving weevils is sufficient to re-
stock the cotton fields of the South
before the end of the growing season.
There is always a possibility that
there may be some specially sheltered
spots even in the more northerly IN
tested regions where some weevils
will be able to survive. The instinct
of the weevil leads it to seek the
warmest shelter available in the Vi
cinity of it's breeding ground. 1t will
shelter itself under the bark of trees,
or in thick hanging moss upon the
trees, under the thatch of roofs, and
in straw stacks, in seed storehouses
and gins, and in other buildings. 1t
is therefore quite easy to see that no
matter how cold the external temper
atures are there is always probabi-
lity that there will be weevils sur
yiving in each field sheltered securely
enough to carry them through the
winter.
The experience of Is years with
the boil weevil in this country has
shown that one or two weevils surviv-
ing in field can easily produce
enough offspring to destroy all but
the earliest portions of the crop.
No reliable prediction can be made
on the basis of what happened during
the winter. Frequently seasons in
which very few weevils pass the win
ter have been followed by great in
Jury to the crop by the weevil. This
has been due to favorable conditions
brought about by heavy rains during
the early part of the growing season,
which permitted the weevils to over
come their losses during the winter,
or to early dispersion of the weeYils
from the warmer sections of the cot
ton belt, and sometimes to severe
tropical storms which frequently
sweep over the Gulf States. 1t is
therefore apparent that the condi-
tons of the spring and summer will
largely determine the extent of dam
age due to the weevil, rather than the
number of weevils which survive in
given locality.
In the opinion of the Department
of Agriculture, it would be very UNI
fortunate if the prevailing impression
concerning the boil weevil should IN
crease the acreage of cotton at the
expense of food crops. At the pres
ent time, what is most urgently need
ed throughout the South is an in
creased production of food and feed
crops. There is every indication that
the normal acreage in cotton, with
proper cultivation, will give supply
of the staple sufficient for all pur-
poses. 1t is clearly a matter OF pa
triotism as well as sound Judgment
for the planters to increase the acre
age in food crops. The planter who
increases his cotton acreage cannot
be assured that his crop will not suf-
fer greatly from the boil weevil at
tack. and will be utilizing his land in
way which does not best serve the
necessities of the country.
Director General McAdoo has al
ready issued warning that transpor-
tation difficulties in 1918 may make 1T
difficult, if not impossible, to supply
food and feed promptly to commune
ties that neglect to provide their own
necessities. To say the least, the
drain on transportation is so heavy
that any exceptional requirements for
hauling food and feed to the South
will be an actual embarrassment to
the Government in the prosecution OF
the war. The Department OF Agrl-
culture is not asking the South to con-