Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-11-18
BEATING THE BOIL WEEvlL
Negro places FIypaper at Ends OF
Rows and Raises Ten Bales,

Negro places FIypaper at Ends OF
Rows and Raises Ten Bales,
A means Of curbihg the progress of
the boil weevil has been found! And
like ALI such discoveries simple
method was employed, writes the Col
umbia correspondent. of the Charles
ton News ard Courier.
The Moses of the farmer is a ne
Flypaper is the weapon.
TAe discovery is authenticated by
one .of the most prominent and sub
stant4 farmers of Greenwood county,
a director of one of the Heading banks
of Greenwood and man who serves
his county in, public lifet i-!H
George Moore, a negro farmer liv-
irg hear Cokesbm:y, had the imagina-
ton 20 conceive the Hindenburg line
against insect invader.C II
Thusly runs the tale:
George had heard much about the
pestifeSous and voracious insect which
was devouring thea Juicy lcore of his
ncighbor's cotton bolls. He, deter
mined to prevent the mvdsioh of his
one ard one-half horse ,farm. He
thought hard and earnestly. tEureka!
The prominent man, in describing
George said 81
81 heard that George Moore had
raised ten bales of cotton on his small
farm when his neighbors, many of
them the most successful farmers of
the Cokesbury section, were disas-
trous failures. The b9ll iweeva, had
literally devoured their cotton bolls.
81 was somewhat skeptieal and in
vestigated. I discotered that gthe ne
gro had, indeed, produced the amount
of cotton stated. I inquired how he
did it. s. f''''
"'Well, boss, replied the darkey, I
heared about dem weevils, frand
thought out a scheme to work again
'em. bought a dollar and a--half of
flypaper and spread it at both ends of
cotton rows. / =. declare bSsssHin the
morning, dem papets was 50 Bivvered
wild dem weevils dat. yo' couldn't see
'em. + den burned 'em and put down
new 'uns. 1t sho' was de ting:
The Greenwood man said he talked
to negroes around George Moore's
farm and they verified what the ne
gro stated, about the number of bales
of cotton produced and the use of the
flypaper. Whether the use Of the fly
paper reduced the Number of weevils
he was doubtful, but the physical fact
remained that the man had ten bales
of cotton.
This man said that the email red
ant would attack and eat the weevil.
He said that when the boIl cracked,
they would crawl in and destroy the
insect, preventing II laying eggs.
"And," he continued, "in ap my exper-
ience<I have never Seen as many red
ants as are on my farms"
The writer brought to his attention
an observation he had made, after be-
ing told some time, ago that English
sparrows were eating boil weevils.
Sparrows arc leaving the towns and
cities. This is the observation Of
many others when the matter IS
broached. Farmers from various sec
tions of the state, when questioned
along this line, invariably say that
they have never seen as many of the
hitherto despised birds on the farms
as during this season.
Boil weevil conditions are serious
in parts of Greenwood and Mccormick
counties. The farmers have raised
meager cotton crops which they have
almost entirely depended upon for
their money However the. people are
not taking pessimistic view of the
situation, saying that this is the time
not to give up, hut with fortitude and
courage work cut their problems.
The writer heard the worst example
of boil wcevil ravage yesterday at
Greenwood he had listened 'to-and he
has heard many tales OF Voc. A large
farmer of Greenwood county who has
six tenant families on one of his farms
was forced to relinquish' their rent.
All six tenants, when they picked their
cotton, had one 425-pound bale be-
tween them.
Greenwood is attempting TO work
out. its problem One of the initial
steps has been the establishment of
a creamcry to take up the SURPLUS milk
of the farmers of the surrounding
territory. The company iS& already
formed, has capitalization Of $4,000
and behind it are some of che most
substantial and inteligcntly progress
sive business men Of the city. This
is but one Of the many plants OF re-
construction that that wide-a-w wake
community comtcmplatcs.