Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-10-12
DESTROY the Boil weevil

boil weevil should be inaugurated
Immediately. A crop worth more
than three hundred million dollars
is at stake. The credit and progress
ate up forty million dollars worth
OF cotton for us last year. We can
not tell as yet how extensive the
losses will be for 1920 but they will
undoubtedly aggregate many mil
lions of dollars. We have preached
diyersifcation and it is wise and
proper subject to emphasize. We
must continue to diversity on a
much more extensive scale than we
have practiced in the, past The
greater will be our profits under
boil weevil conditions. At the same
time, there are two things which
stand out pre-eminently. First of
all, the world must be clothed and
cotton is that most important and
cotton will always be our chief
money crop. Our climatic conditions
make this self-evident to any one
who has studied the situation. We
use every agency at our command
| to maintain our supremacy in cot
| ton production.
We can grow cotton successfully
and profitabIy under boil weevil
conditions but we can not do this
! by a continuance of the methods of
practice followed in the past. New
| situations create new needs. Prog
ress brings about change. Even the
| depredationS of a small insect can
neither be gainsaid nor overlooked.
| 1t is our duty then as we'll as our
privilege to acquaint ourselves thor
oughly with the life history of the
| boil WeeVil; to ascertain as nearly
| as possible the hest conditions under
which he thrives and develops, and
| then to counteract his power to null
tiply and destroy our crops by at
| his armor. There has never been a
plague in the history of the world
which could not be held in check or
| overcome. Man has had to exert
! himself and change his line of
thought and his method of procedure
to accomplish this end, but up to the
present time he has always sue
ceeded. Nature has seen to it that
there is a weak spot in the armor of
the boil weevil and by taking advan-
least sufficiently encompass his de-
Structio1 to enable us to continue
the profitable production of cotton
on statewide basis.
Now is the best time in all the
year in which to fight the weevil
with the utmost vigor and the high
est measure Of success. This may
be brought about in one of several
ways, but the best, most economical
and desirable plan Of action to follow
is that of turning under the cotton
stalks before frost to the greatest
depth possible. Immediately the cry
goes UP that the cotton will not al!
be out by that time. This is a mis-
conception for there will rearely, if
ever, be anything Of a top crop of
cotton under boil weeviI conditions.
Let us get this idea firmly in our
minds and resign ourselves once and
fer all to the loss of the top crop.
The advent of the boil weevil means
that we can only succeed in cotton
cultivation through the growing. Of
weevil will see to it that we grow
early maturing varieties or go out of
business. The boil weevil will live
chiefly under proper methods of
MANAGEMENT on the ton cron of cot
ton. Let us give this to him, but
DDS of farm practice on a basis that
will insure his destruction in the
largest possible numbers. We should
encourage in so far ps we can
and if we select early ma turing
varieties for planting, we will be
sure of raising anywhere from 40 to
20 per cent of a normal cotton crnn
denen6ine upon the degree Of wenvil
i~festation and the methods en-
pIoved of fehtino the same.
The cotton stalks should be turn
ed under three weeks before frost. Do
this work if it is at all possible by
October |. This can certainly De
accomplished in many sections OF
ready stated that the weevil will
cause an early maturity of the part
of the crop which the farmer WI
gather from this date forward. I'm
some sections of the state it may
no To fry md
effectively as late as October Is.
If we wait until after frost falls
the benefits of turning under the
stalks are greatly minimized because
the weevils will Immediately scat
ter out and find shelter which will
effectively protect them until next
year Weevils can not live away
from cotton in the fall for more
than two Or three weeks. There
fore, if their food supply is de-
of them are starved even if they
may not be buried SO deeply in the
soil as to kill them.
After frost occurs nature has pro-
vided the weevil with the power to
live, for several months without
ing quarters, there is little. we can
do to injure him. before he energies
the next spring. 1t is the late de-
veloped weevil which is well fed and
noursihed on the top crop of cotton
that has the greatest vigor. These
are the ones that go into the winter
if left unmolested in a vigorous con-
dition. Their powers of resistance
to cold through the hybernating
period are MUCH greater than those
crop or last crop of weevils which
we should make the greatest eff
fort to destroy as completely as
possible.
When you consider that literally
millions of them may be killed out
by the simple practice of turning
the stalks under to a depth of sew
eral inches three weeks before frost
occurs, the Importance of this par
ticular phase of the fight against
we can just impress this fact on
the minds Of all our land owners
strongly enough to convince them
of the necessity of making a united
have done more to minimize weevil
damage in 1921 than can be accom-
plished in any other way.
The stalks may be turned under
with various types of machinery
tractor will be found admirable
be used. Ordinary turning plows
may be used effectively provided a
heavy chain is attached to the end
Of the whiffle tree and the Golfer
teClilclIlUer IHdC the complete bury
ing of the stalks is the end to be
accomplished. Do not be afraid of
ripping up the soil too deeply Be
sure that your plow is so adjust
ed as to completely invert and bury
the stalks in the soil. ANY method
of practice that will attain the end
indicated may be employed If you
SIMPLY turn the stalks over on the
side and leave the ends sticking out
of the ground, you will no doubt
Destroy some weevils, but you will
have largely nul1ified the end you
are striving to attain. A one-horse
able you TO turn under the cotton
stalks satisfactorily. If you 90 not
happen to have two mules, borrow
one from your neighbor for a day or
Two. United effort should be made
by every individual and every com
munlty to get sufficiently large i'm