The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1921-12-08
CoNoUERING THE BOIL. wEEyIL

am writing this in the first per-
son singular. l want TO take Herald
readers on personally conducted
tour through a boil weevil infested
county and give them first-hand facts.
Last week l spent two days III Bam-
berg county. Bamberg has been hard
hit. 1t is a county the size of Dillon
and there is very little difference in
the character of the lands or the
methods of farming them. Bamberg
makes a normal crop of 10000 bales;
TINS year it made 1000. This is Bam-
berg's third year with the boil weevil.
The weeyil made it's appearance there
In small numbers late in the summer
OF 1919. just the same as it made
1ts appearance here the latter part
OF July in this year. Bamberg made
short crop in 1919, but in 1920
the seasons were good and the coun-
ty made almost a normal crop. The
farmers tried cotton again this year.
but the drought came and then fol-
lowed the weeks of excessive rain
TALL and Bamberg's crop was cut from
$1,000 to 1000 bales. From the re-
ports that had reached here concern
ing conditions in the lower tier of
counties L expected to find things as
flat as founder; l expected to find
the streets deserted, half the stores
closed, no traffic. smokeless factory
chimneys and general spirit of de
lection and depression. But was
agreeably surprised. The only idle in
dustries L found were ginneries. The
most of them had closed weeks ago.
Saturday morning found the streets
alive with traffic. Business men were
hurrying here and there. The usual
stream OF customers was pouring in
and out of the banks, the clerks in
the stores were fairly busy and bus
mess seemed to be normal. There
was no general spirit of detection and
depression. The people Were not blue.
They were smiling. They were Opt
mistic. They have plenty 10 eat-food
IS found everywhere in the greatest
abundance-manyo of them have a lit
tie money ahead, and those who have
nc money sell a hog. a few chickens
vi C5bS vi oOult COl IL NIltH lllNS llAlN
it necessary to go to town and trade.
One man with whom l talked said
conditions as a whole were better than
they were last fall. He said the big
slump in the price of cotton was such
n shock that it paralyZed the peo-
pie. The boil weevil came on gradual
Iy his work of destruction covered
a period of several months and the
people had in way adjusted them
selves to conditions before the cotton
crop was harvested. They will plant
some cotton next year-about 1 to
G acres to the plow. They take a
hopeful view of the future, and are
confident that when they emerge
from the wilderness of doubt and un-
certainty by which they are surround
ed at the present moment that ii will
mark the beginning of an era of
prosperity. the like of which the
county has never known.
40 Per Cent. Seasons.
1 talked with banker. merchant
and farmer. I talked with big farm
"A''. ''iNtlAGlll 'Atl9o ittl 4lItl > anu SIidll
farmers. and as 1 progressed from
top 10 bottom pessimism decreased
and optimism increased. The big far
mer has been hard hit; the small
farmer has not suffered to any great
extent. L gathered opinions here and
there; / told them that in my judg-
ment reports reaching my country
concerning conditions in the low
country had been greatly exaggerat-
ed; that il was like the indiscretion
committed at home-the farther il
got away from the point Of origin the
more scandalous it became. That I
was there for the purpose of get
ting the truth; that the farmers of
my section were facing the same CON
ditions they had faced in 1920; that
they had had three years of the boil
weevil and we wanted the benefit of
their experience. 1 had related to me
a hundred different experiences,
scores of different methods for fight
ing the boil weevil and dozens of diff
ferent plans for growing other money
crops, but after adding and subtract
ing and multiplying and deducting all
these opinions and experiences and
Plans L divided the sum total by per-
soal conclusions and observations and
find that the net result is 75 per
cent of season and 25 per cent of eff
fcrt-
There are good farmers in Dillon
SeOnnty huf they hauan't a poponoIv
on good farming methods. There are
other men who have the know
how" 1 talked with Mr.. G. r. Brab-