The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1920-09-23

aid.
Laurens county cotton fields look
very much like a mighty small crop
this year, since the boil weevil has
gone after the bolls in such Wig
orous manner, all except upon one
farm. That farm is the one owned
by w. B. Taylor, of Dexter, and it has
256 acres of cotton that will come
very near fulfilling the prediction in
July of 256 bales of cotton.
A representative of this paper went
over the cotton fields with DR.. Tay-
lor Thursday afternoon, for the Sec
ond time this season, and was shown
just what kind of yield was being
picked. He found that the heavy
crop prospects that the same fields in
dicated about July 25th were being
realized. Many of the fields were be-
ing picked over the second time, and
yet they showed a better crop open on
the second picking than will be gath
cred during the entire season on 80
per cent. of the farms in Laurens this
year.
How it Was Done.
Most of the farmers had a good
crop prospect on July 25th, just as
DR.. Taylor did. Not all of them had
indications of as big yield, but the
crop was much better than last year.
They had very few weevils, and they
we're getting ready to use calcium ar
senate freely. Every one was hope
full for a 10000 bale crop. And they
had good reasons to hope for that
many bales.
About August 1 rain set in and 1t
kept raining every day. Using cal
cium arsenate was out of the ques-
ton. Along with the rain came the
migratory boil weevils in swarms,
hunting fresh fields where there were
plenty of new squares. They found
these in Laurens, and they located in
this county, being probably the most
unpopular visitors that Laurens ever
entertained. 1t continued to rain and
it then rained some more for good
measure. While the rain fell, the
weevil got busy, and Laurens county
farmers were forced to stand idly by
and see their crop ruin. They were
able to fight him up to the last few
weeks of the season, and then were
powerless at the last to realize on
their good work of the season.
One of the first questions asked DR..
Taylor by the reporter was how ne
defeated the weevil when every one
else lost~His answers we're very SIM
pie, but he had the results to demon
strate their truth.
Bolls Too Tough For Weevils.
1T was due to the fact that on my
cotton the tough, inner parchment lin
ing of the bolls gets too hard for the
weevil to puncture in from Is to Fl
days, while the average cotton re-
quires 80 days for this inner skin to
get too hard for the weevil,' DR.. Tay-
lor replied.
Pulling some bolls off the plants at
random, he proceeded to show what
he means. Some of them he pulled
were just a little more than half
grown. On the outside could be seen
numerous small weevil punctures. 1t
looked as if they were hopelessly
ruined. Then they were cut open, all
but the smallest of them were found
to be sound. The weevils could not
bore through the inner parchment
like skin of the boil. He could bore
into the outside easily, and had done
it, for the signs were plentiful, but
the tough skin inside stopped him.
Some of them showed spots on this
tough skin where the weevil had al
most got through and caused a dis
colored place On the skin, but in very
few cases had he been able to pune
ture this inner parchment-like skin.
Some Of the bolls thus immune were
not over Is days DID, Some of them
were older, but only the small ones,
a portion of the 15-day-old bolls were
damaged by the weevil.
"That is the secret of my cotton
CROP" DR.. Taylor said. ''This Toole
cotton l am using naturally produces
a f1inty boil, much more so than the
average cotton used in this county.
And, since / have been fighting the
weevil, have been selecting the hard
est, f1intiest bolls for seed. This had
resulted in my getting a strain Of
seed that produces bolls which get
too tough for the weevil in from Is