Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1920-07-20
THE BOIL WEEVIL'S STRANGE
ALLY.
Savannah Press. j


THE Cotton Belt is "up against"
it. King Cotton is engaged in
struggled for his throne and for
his life. His realm has been invaded
by the boil weevil and is being de-
vastated as was the fair land of Bel
GUM by the conquering Hun.
The boil weevil is no new enemy.
Several years ago he crossed the
Mexican frontier and he has moved
slowly, but steadily, NOrthward and
Eastward until he has just about COW
cred the entire cotton country. The
| boil weevil must be controlled 1--WE
cannot hope to extirpate him) or
the culture of cotton in the present
cotton belt must be abandoned.
Government experts and other
scientists have studied this problem
from the beginning. They have form
ulated methods of procedure by
which the ravages of the weevil may
be minimized and fair crop of cot
ton may be raised in spite of him.
These methods consist of three
separate steps. In the early spring
the few weevils who have survived
the winter must be picked by hand
| from the tender leaf buds where they
will be found feeding early in the
morning and late in the afternoon.
Once caught in this way they must,
of course, be destroyed. Later, tho e
| that have not been caught will be
found to have deposited their eggs in
the squares and young bolls. These
bolls will drop from tt plant. The
second step in the boil weevil fight
| is to go over the field repeatedly,
picking up these shed bolls and
squares and burning them. Even
then some will escape and as the
season advances the number of Wee
wills in an infested field will steadily
increase. The third and last re-
source of the cotton farmer is the
process of poisoning the plant by
blowing on it powdered arsenate of
lime. This also can be done only
at early dawn and at dewy eve, for
in the middle of the day the leaves
are too dry to retain the powder.
Each and every one of these OPP
erations involves labor and expense.
Yet each and every one is necessary
if even a partial cotton crop is to
be secured.
An immense amount of labor and
study has been expended on this boil
weevil problem; and, so far, its best
results are as outlined. The end is
not vet. The war is still on. Prob
ably other and better methods will
be devised as time goes on. Perhaps
in the end human science may achieve
complete victory and Danish the
boil weevil forever.
But it is not enough for scientists
to learn the life history and habits
of it's tiny enemies. 1t is necessary
also to show the farmer what to DO
and to impress upon him the abso-
Lutte necessity of doing it. The con-
servatism of the farmer is proverbial.
He likes to keep on doing things IN
the same old way. What was good
enough for grandpa is good enough
for him, even though grandpa never
saw or heard of a boil weevil. A
very large proportion of our farmers
bis extremely ignorant. And it is
truly remarkable to what extent ig-
norance resents information. The
ignorant farmer has no confidence
in the agricultural scientist and is
slow to adopt his suggestions or to
believe in his discoveries.
The task of teaching the mass of
cotton farmers how to meet and sur
mount this catastrophe that confronts
his, is a big one at best. But it has
been augmented in a most curious
and astonishing way.
Certain preachers have taken up
the cause of the boil weevil. We are
told that there are white ones as
we'll as blacks. They are telling their
congregations that God put the Dol
weevil in the cotton patch and that
it is blasphemy to try to destroy
one of Gods creatures. Moreover
they say that the task is hopeless,
as God will replace every weevil de-
stroyed. :,
Doubtless God put the boil weevil
in the cotton patch just as He put
the rabbit in the brier patch and
the mosquitoes in the swamp. Even
he who tells us of the blasphemy of
killing boil weevils will not scorn a
toothsome rabbit stew after his SER
mon.
The rabbit furnishes US with the
means of subsistence, but he forfeits
his life in doing so. He is our UNI
fortunate friend. Flies and mos