Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1918-02-28
WEATHER
AND BOIL WEEv|L
No Reason to Believe that the Cotton
Pest Has Been Exterminated-
Caution TO Farmers.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.-It is ex-
tremely unwise for cotton farmers to
assume that the freezes of the last
few weeks have 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 number of weevils in
many sections of the South. The i'm
preston has been gained by many
planters that the weevil has been re-
duced to negligible numbers, if not al
together exterminated. 1t is too
much to expect that the temperatures
have been uniformly cold enough to
absolutely exterminate the weevil
from large areas. The records of the
apartment of Agriculture indicate
that there is at least from / to 5
per cent survivals of the weevil in
those sections which have. been
thoroughly studied as against a nor
NAL of rs 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 warm
est shelter available in the vicinity of
its 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 temperatures are
there is always a probability that
there will be weevils surviving in each
field sheltered securely enough to
carry them through the winter.
The experience of % years with the
boil weevil in this country has shown
that one or two weevils surviving in
a field can easily produce enough Off
springs 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 weeviIs pass the
winter have been followed by great
injury 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 10 over
come their losses during the winter,
or to early dispersion of the weevils
from the warmer sections of the
cotton belt, and sometimes to severe
tropical storms which frequently
sweep over the Gulf States. 1t is
therefore apparent that the conditions
of the spring and summer will largely
determine the extent of damage due
to the weevil, rather than the number
of weevils which survive in a given
locality.
In the opinion of the Department OF
Agriculture, it would be very unfor-
tunate if the prevailing impression
concerning the boil weevil should in
crease the acreage of cotton at the ex-
pense of food crops. At the present
time what is most urgently needed
throughout the South is an increased
production of food and feed crops
There is every indication that the nor
NAL acreage in cotton, with proper
cultivation, will give a supply of the
staple sufficient for all purposes. II
is cleary a matter of patriotism as
well as sound Judgment for the