The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1921-06-15
Can't Estimate the Damage

hoo Soii Hoe tlIlIiClpaLe WCCVll DAM
age. Some years it will be worse than
others and worse in some fields than
others. The weevil is like the Irish
mans flea-you can't put your finger
on him. About the time you think
you nave good crop made, he can eat
1t up, If the weather turns off wet
and you have not been "weeviling"
and "squaring."
They are still raising cotton all over
the South in spite of the weevils, but
IN few, If any, instances, on the same
Ola basis. The weevil brings new con-
dltlon sand they must be met with
new methods.
In many sections the wecvils is now
looked upon as a blessing that came
IN disguise but you know, as they once
did, look upon him as a calamity un-
disguised. l can name to you num-
hcrs OF men and counties that would
tell you that they would not return to
the all cotton system again if thew
could. Why lii one Alabama county
the people actually erected large
bronze monument "to Billy Boil Wee
VII, who brought to them diversified
farming and increased prosperity"
Some idea of what wcevils can do
under favorable conditions may be
had from the case Of Alabama in 1916.
The previous year the State made, if
my memory is correct, 100000 bales
of cotton and in 1916 With extreme
rainfall and consequent weevil dam
age, only 100000 bales-a two-thirds
loss with not all the State infested
with wecvils! Some of the worse af-
fectcd counties like Montgomery,
Dallas, Lowndcs, dropped from 10000
and 5000 bales to from 1000 to 5000
imagine If you can what conditions
here would be with 5000 or even
10000 bale cotton crop?
What Happened in Alabama
have seen with my own eyes fields
of cotton that would hide man on
horseback that didn't make planting
seed. Many one-mule share croppers
with twenty acres planted could not
go to gin without clubbing in with one
or more others. Towns with four and
five ginnerics had only one in opera
ton, and that on certain days during
the busiest season. And the follow
ing year whole plantations did not
have a negro on them or a furrow
turned, and, saddest of all, many of
these lands are now in the hands of
outsiders, who seized the opportunity
to buy them cheap. For whole sea
sons not car of mules was shipped
into Montgomery, but train loads went
out, while IN pre- wcevil days Abraham
Brothers there did one of the biggest
mule businesses in the Souti1--wholc-
sale and retail.
Gentlemen, do not allow all your
labor to drift away and do not dispose
of your work stock should you have
a bad wcevil year. IF you do we will
be several tires as long rallying from
the effect of weevils. You will realize
the mistake too late
| would also urge and plead with
you to begin now your plans for re-
duccd acreage of cotton to from six
to eight acres per plow (you cannot
handle moro successfully. Plan for
variety of crops next year, but do
not plunge into any new crop too
heavily. The experience will be too
expensive. 1t is much better to grow
INTO these new things. Plan first of
all to raise as much as possible of
those things we have been raising
cotton to buy with. All of this means
the greatest change that has come in
your system of farming since the