The New York herald., 1921-10-23
BOIL WEEVIL WINS
IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Farmers Likely 20 Be Forced
to Diversity Their Crops
Moro.
COTTON AT RECORD Low
Estimated Yield One Bale In.
stead Of Six to Four
Acres.

sDectaI Despatch 10 THE NEW Yoax HnaALD
ROCK HILL, 8. C.. Oct 3a.--With the
boil weevil rampant even In che north
ern portions Of tho State the farmers Of
South Carolina. who have been devotins
their efforts almost entirely TO the grow
ing of cotton IN the past. win have to
adopt new tactics in tho immediate fu-
ture. The result, many believe. will be
the planting Of more cotton and raising
less of the staple. However. limited
number OF farmers will take advantage
of the experience In other boil weevil
sections and diversity. having cotton a.
the surplus rather than tho main crop.
South Cardinals total production Of
cotton this year doubtless will be the
lowest for many years. Il u not be-
lieved more than 100000 bales Will be
ginned. as against more than twice that
number last year. And. too. the cotton,
barring tho frst picking, IL Of low grade
IN the Piedmont section. Scores. of
farmers who last year made from O half
going to be highly satisfied II they get
bale to four acres thir year. while
some are counting on one-tenth the yield
OF last year.
I Two factors have Joined in saving the
cotton growers Of the State this year.
One was the Jump In price from II cents
to around 30 cents. The other was the
holding in warehouses Of Q goodly por-
tion Of the 1920 and some OF the 1919
crop. When cotton was 90 cents a
pound those who had 1919 cotton were
waiting for Is cents. It began to drop
and they did not sell. hoping for re-
bound. When It got below 20 cents they
could not sail without . loss and they
clLng tenacious,y. or 40 many az could
carry their crops did. When tho price
went to 21.60 this autumn some turned
loose a portion Of the old cotton. but In
the main they have been getting rid of
the new crop On farms where there was
anything like fair yield the staple
could be marketed at a profit at 20
cents. and they have been selling tho
new and holding the old.
Settling Up Accounts.
Many are now settling up their ac.
counts ana as a result business has ma.
terially improved In the cotton bolt
within the last few weeks. However
there Is still great room for improve
ment, and It will necessitate the selling
Of much OF the stored cotton to square
few farmers have been required to sell
their cotton. acting on their own init!a-
tive when sales were made. In many
other sections. however. they have not
been so lucky. A q result this immadi
ate section has never felt tho pinch as
In many other places
liberalization also has been prac-
t1sed moro largely In this part Of the
State and many farmers who formerly
grew cotton and spent the money re-
teived Tor same In buying feedstuff
from the middle West are now growing
! on their farms all tho roughage and
oorn needed for home consumption and
then growing all tho cotton they could
The farmers who years ago adopted this
course to-day are comparatively inde-
pendent Of cotton. and these. In the
| main. are those who are still holding
part OF their 1919 crop.
Others are seeing tho drift and arc
turning to the practice Of "living al
home" and eating home products. The
farmers who follow this oours6 are
steadily increasing the productivity OF
their soil and with q smaller acreag
In cotton are getting the same yield al
| formerly In q much larger acreage. The
boil weevil VIII doubtless produce many
converts to this more intelligent method
Of farming
Government Urges Change.
Since the depredations OF the boil
weevil reached an alarming stage a
number OF years ago tho Government,
experts have been urging the people oil
South Carolina to be prepared for thei,
advent into this State. Every assistance
has been given In promoting the raising
Of pure bred cattle. hogs and other 1--we
stock. Cooperative marketing organ!xa.
tions have boon formed In many places
for the disposal OF products. some prov.
Ing highly successful IN the net returns
TO those entering the organizations. This
work has been productive Of most bene.
ficial results. but even at that the .weevi
has caught Thousands OF farmers un.
prepared AFTER they were told II would
years ago.
Now that the pest has covered the
State the Government experts are en-.
gagged In advising how 20 best comba,
! the weevii and at the same time make a
living on the farm. Some will faith.
fully try to follow this advice, but the
majority will keep on in the Same old
/ way. as has been the case In all the
other cotton States.
While the yield Of cotton this year VIII
be the lowest in many years Il is prob
! able that new low recprd will be made
! next year Tho yield Will depend largely
| on the severity Of tho winter A mild
winter will bring forth'a 'devouring army
! Of the weevils early, next spring, and
| tho chance for cotton VIII 20 aglimmer-
ing. A severe winter. on the other hand
experts say. will probably kill out most
! Of the .wceviis. and with fair seasons and
siligent effort In combating the firs,
I generation Of the pest fair crop can be
! made.
/ One weevil can multiply into the mill.
, ions In season, II is stated. so the
main object Ia to kill as many durfne
'he cold months as possible and pick m
the first batch that appears next sum-
mer. In carrying out the frst part OF
'his programme an unusually large
acreage OF fal, cover crops n being sowr
some OF these crops will be harvested
/ tho fertilizer bili correspondineiy. The
! IN the Piedmont section Of the State. and
| 1921 cotton crop was probably the ieasi
expensive In many years. and the In
dications now are that less expense will
I be attached TO the 1922 crop.
DR.. GIL BORCES TO JOiN
LONG IN LAW PRACTICE