The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1921-07-21
A MOMENTOUS DISCOVERY.
Western Farmer Says That Pigs
Thrive on Boil Weevil.

thrive on Bull Weevu.
IA few days ago C. C. French,
Industrial Agent for the Fort
Worth Stock Yards, was in my Of
flee and presented the following
clipping from a live stock journal /:
"Somanche, Sept. This Sec
tion has one farmer who not only
has mo fear of the boil weevil, but
actually turns it to an advantage
His name is w b. Startling, and
he lives near Blanket, about 10
miles southwest of Comanche. He
says he has now about half bale
of cotton to the acre matured with
good prospects of continued ma
turity. He has his farm fenced
into subdivisions with hog-proot
fences. AS soon as the boil wee
vii begins to make its appearance
he turns his hogs into the cotton
field. He has about 80 to 35 head
of pigs big enough to eat and
range, and these pigs gather every
fallen form punctured by the wee
vii and knock off the punctured
forms which still adhere to the
stalk. They actually fatten on the
larvae thus devoured and seem to
be specially fond of the combined
vegetable and animal diet.
SIN addition to destroying the
entire weevil crop, they also loos-
en- up the soil without the slight
est damage to the plant, in their
rigid cleaning UP of the fallen
forms. Fields adjoining or ada
cent to his farm where no hogs
have been ranged will not make
cotton enough to pay for the pick
ing. Mr.. Startling is we'll known
as man of the highest veracity
and integrity and his statement
may be absolutely depended upon
as true"
In discussing the matter with
Mr.. French, he decided to make
the trip to Blanket Immediately
for the purpose of checking up
the story ,and after making a thor
ough investigation on September
9th he reports the conditions he
found somewhat as follows:
"On an adjoining field consist
ing of IL acres from 85 per cent
to 80 per cent of the bolls were
puncturIH and the entire IL acres
would not make more than two
bales of cotton. On the expert
mental plot % acres where the
hogs were allowed to range, the
cotton will make half bale to the
acre and probably more. MIR.
French states that he took up one
stalk of cotton with SO bolls, none
of which were punctured. The
herd of hogs consists of three
sows, six gifts and fourteen pigs.
They have been running in the
patch ever since the first punct-
ured forms have fallen.
GAS a, further evidence of the
value of the pigs running in the
cotton field Mr.. Frenrh found that
where pigs slept at night near the
barn, and their watering place
there were practically no punctur-
ed bolls, but in remote parts of the
field where the pigs range less
frequently, the punctures were
more numerous. The cotton was in
no way damaged by the hogs. Mr.
Startling has been conducting this
experiment for the past six years
and has found that it has giver
him uniform results every year.
L am passing this information or
to members of the Better Secreta
ries Club, for / believe it is a mo
mentous discovery due to the fact
that it is a very hard task to pro-
duce hogs at profitable price anc
cotton under boil weevil condi
tions.
/ have made arrangements with
two reliable farmers to conduc1
this experiment to determine it:
value in this section.-The South
east Live Stock.