Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1921-12-28
FIGHTING the BOIL WEEvIl
Intelligence, Courage, and optin ss:a
Needod by Farmers.

by the various Southern States and
the United States Department OF Ag-
riculture, and in spite Of the various
the cotton growing states, the cotton
boil weevil has annually extended its
operations. the advance line of this
! pest having now moved entirely
across South Carolina, leaving the
state infested from the mountains to
the coast. Fortunately for the farm
ers Of South Carolina, says w. w.
Long, Director OF the Extension Serv-
Ice, we are able to draw lessons from
the experience Of other states over q
period Of nearly thirty years, the boil
weevil having entered Texas in 1892.
This should enable us to avoid many
OF the costly mistakes that have beea
made over and again by the cotton
growers Of the states further west.
Clemson Agricultural College and
the United States Department of Az
riculture have made special studies OF
the boil weovil problem. cooperating
with every agency Interested along
this line. At frequent intervals rolia.
Bile information has been issued with
the view Of keeping our people thor
oughly informed regarding this pest
and the methods OF fighting It, In
1916 the College was instrumental in
organizing the South Carolina Boil
Woevil Commission. which went into
the infested states OF Louisiana and
Mississippi and studied the weevil at
first hand under conditions similar to
those prevailing III this state. The
report Of the Commission issued by
Clemson in November. 1916, as Bul-
letin No. 30 contained practically all
the reliable information OF Importance
that haa beon developed regarding the
boil weavil problem. This report had
a wide circulation and was considered
to be 30 thorough and accurate that
the United States Senate published It
in February, 1917, as Senate Docu-
mont. This document Is now avail
able in revised form. Many other
bulletins. reports, and special artf
cles dealing with specific phases OF
the problem have been issued from
time to time. Tho Extension Service.
through the county agent system, has
kept this information before the peo-
pie constantly. As result the aver
age farmer OF South Carolina is with
out doubt better informed in the
practical phases Of this subject than
has Seen the case in any other state
at the tlme OF chc arrived e tho boil
weeyil
No T',msa fnr pch sssaeS sAt.'nU
Othor states have had ,hjs pyobiem
to face. and whila luey suffered ss>
verely they have demonstrated that
there are ways of dealing with the
boil weevil problem. Cotton Is being
grown in spite Of the boil weevtl.
This is not the time, therefore. to per-
NIT ourselves to become depressed
and pessimistic. Instead, we must
learn tho methods and practices
which enable other farmers to pro-
duce cotton proftaby under boil
| weevil conditions.
Before relying upon boil weevil in-
formation. We must be sure that It
comes from source that can and
does disseminate reliable informal ton.
BY studying information from reliable
sources and adapting it to our parti-
cular needs we can adjust ourselves
much more quickly and economically
TO the new conditions enforced by the
boil weevil We can not rely upon in
formation based upon one years ex-
porience with the boil weevil. The
best information is that based on
many years Of experience such as the
states west OF Alabama have had.
Thesc states have had time to adjust
themselves to new conditions and to
adopt new farm practices. whereas
the newly infested sections are still
fOundcring around from one thing to
anOthcr in an effort to find remedies
for tho boil waevil.
There Is no single new crop which
promises to take the place OF cotton
as our money crop. There Is no COM
binat tion Of crops which can be rec
commended as specific. Experiment
has shown that cotton continues to
be grown as the chicf money crop in
the cotton states already infested by
the weevil. 1t would be we'll. there
fore. for us to continue to grow cot
ton using the best 5oll wcevil control
measures and to undertake the grow
Ing OF new money crops only on a
conservative scala Plunging on now
unknown money crops brings on prob
lems that are as htrd to solve as Is
the problem OF growing cotton undor
boil weevil conditions We must
AMPLY adapt ourselves to the changed
aspects Of farming and meet now con
ditiOns with suitable methods
Now Publications to Help.