Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-12-09
TO BEAT BOIL WE'EVIL
Fertllze Well, Space Close And
'-''i Cultivate Fast
ESSENTIALS OF PROVED EFFICIENCY EEli

tween the Rows is FaIaeious-Poor
Land is More Liable to Successful
Attack Than Rich Land.
Progressive Farmer. -.
The boil weevil Is now In every
important cotton growing state. hav-
ing this fall established itself in the
Carolinas. Moreover, in nearly all Sec
tions where the weevil has been pre-
sent this year, the damage has been ex-
ceptionally heavy, In some cases run
ming as high as 80 or even 90 per cent.
Damage has been severe In Texas,
where the weevil has been for many
years and where the seasons are favor
able for the weevil 1t appears that the
pest will always be on hand to take q
goodly share of the cotton crop, In
other words, the weevil.is with us APP
parently for an indefinite stay, and II
we would make cotton. the sooner we
learn the essentials in doing 90; the
better Tor US. The following recon-
mendations are based on ten years
study Of this pest, plus years Of acutal
cotton growing under weevil conditions.
We place these ESSENTIALS in the order OF
their importance:
1-PIant on Rich Land, or Fsrtilixs
Literally. 'st
Beyond all question, rich land Is of
first Importance In making cotton des-
pite the weevil. Our rich valley and
river lands are usually strong enough
to make good cotton despite the Vice.
vii, If they are we'll drained. But even
on these richer soils. fifty to seventy
FIVE pounds per acre Of nitrate Of soda :
at planting time to push the crop OF
rapidly will generally pay well.
On our thinner lands, fertilizers
should be used heavily II cotton is TO
be grown at profit. On such thin
lands,H they have good clay sub
soil, we would recommend 200 pounds
per aere-of nitrate Of soda and 800 to
400 pounds per acre Of acid phosphate
all applied at planting time. On soils
with a good clay subsoil. potash prob
ably will not be needed. and the tight
subsoil, prevents any material leach-
ing out of the nitrate, On deep sandy,
soils, 100 to $50 pounds per acre OF Z
kainit or it's equivalent should be used
to supply the potash needed, and since
teaching is likely on such soils. il win
be. best to use one-third or one-half
the nitrate at planting time, using the
remainder as a side application the
latter part Of May or early in June.
Where 1t can be had at q less cost per
pound lot. nitrogen, sulphate OF am
monia may be used in place Of nitrate
of soda. ,.,. rr ... -. r,t''- =
The applications recommended may
appear somewhat heavy, but on our
average thin sandy and loamy soils we
have good evidence that they are high
ly profitable. ~.
Fast Shallow Cultivation.
The object Of the heavy fertilization
above recommended, Of course, Is 70
push the cotton so that 1t will make q
fair crop ahead Of the weevil;; hut IL
it Is to be pushed to it's utmost, rapid,
shallow cultivation Is scarcely less i'm
portant than liberal fertilization. II Is
hard to lay down any set rules for cul-
tivating any crop, because methods
must be varied to suit seasonal condt-
tions. But the aim should be to stir
the soil early in the season, so as to I,
kill all grass and weeds before they
get a hold. Later civilizations should
be frequent and shallow, and grass
and weeds should at all times be kept
down. Ordinarily the clean, wellncos-J
ton field has a good chance to make q
crop despite the weevil. - -.
3.-Spaee Cotton Closely. ~: :
The old advice to space wide to let,
in the sunlight has been proved worse
than useless. Experiments all the way
from Texas to Georgia, on pretty near
ly every kind and grade Of soil, have
proved that close spacing uniformly
gets the biggest yields. Generally,
rows three feet wide and the cotton a
hoes width in the drill will be best.
We doubt If under any conditions rows
should be wider than three and one
half feet. This may seem like close
spacing, but we have abundant evil
dence to prove that 1t results In bigger
yields Of cotton. Poor stands Of cotf"
ton, in our opinion, are very largely
responsible for our low yields per acre.
Let three foot rows and hoes width .
in the drill" be the aim. .:'' "a
The three points named above we
consider Of vital Importance in max I,
ing cotton despite the weevil, coming
far ahead of the matter Of varieties,ls
picking weevils and squares, or poison-'
ing. All these combined may not, in
a year like this has been result in q
paying crop of cotton; but they will,
come nearer to doing so than any other Z
methods, and in average years they
will result in profitable crops in most
sections of the cotton belt.