The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-03-10
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N. L. Willet in Augusta Chronicle.
Five Times More Emerging Weevils
in 1922 Than in Amy One Year
Since 1915.
The Tallulah, Louisiana, Records

-"eeNll laOOIdUOIIeS LdHS 4lIeNS az IIA1o
time of the year records which fairly
show the percentage Of weevlls which
will emerge for the season out Of III
bernation and this record demon
strates that taking the highest per-
centage of emergence for any one
year since 1915 that 1922 emergence
will be FIVE times that amount. This
is stupendous revelation and Who'll
ly unprecedented and the cotton far
rner who does not take cognizance Of
it may lose far more than he did a
year ago and if this farmer does not
do something to Offset this wholly Un-
paralleled emergence he may tragical-
~ lose.
Weevil Survival
The number of weevil emerging IN
the spring depends upon two factors.
First, it relates to the number of wee
wis entering Information in the win
ter.
Second, it relates to the percent
age of survival Some winters are
extremely unfavorable to weevil sur
vival but unfortunately this past sea-
son was such that practically no wee
wis have died at all-according to the
Louisiana records. We have had a
winter that has been almost sum-
mer, A very large number of wee
wills from heavy infestation in 1921
entered Information and because Of
favorable weather they practically to
the last man survive today.
The Test Methods
The methods for testing spring
emergence at Tallulah are two First
they take a ton of Spanish moss
from the trees in which the weevil
loves to hibernate. In early spring
the number Of live weevils per ton
is counted and the number of dead
weevils is counted and this record
shows, as above noted, five times more
live weevils per ton today than were
found in the highest year record since
1915 and repeat again that this is
an appalling outlook and it means un-
usual methods this year on the far
mer's part to Offset this unusual
.emergence. The other test at Tallu-
lah is to take cages and put in these
cages a certain number of weevils
and put therein certain types Of shell
ter which weevils love, and at the end
Of the season to count the live and
the dead and it is important to know
that both of these tests demonstrate
a five times heavier emergence than
in any one year since 1915.
The Records
I print below the records that Tai
lulah has made for the past eight
years, beginning at 1915.
Live weevils per tor of moss: 1915,
100; 1916, 24,O; 1917, SO; 1918;
1T; 1919, 40; 1920, 9.5; 1921, 22.0;
1922, 1910.
Dead weevils per ton of moss: 1915,
414.O; 1916, 1860; 1917, 144.O;
1918, A8.9; 1919, $50; 1920, 1873;
1921, 26.O; 1922, 2.2.
The farmer will note that accord
ing to the record of live and dead
for the 1922 record that practically
no ,weevils have died in Information
this year 5ut that practically every
weevil that entered Information is go
ing to come cut of Information.
4 Live Weevil
Cnoditions today are, therefore,
five times more favorable for weevil
damage than ever before in the his
tory of this pest and this condition
exists throughout the whole South
Heavy emergenee means heavy dan
ger. Cotton growing is more of a
gamble, under these unfavorable con-
ditons, than ever before in the history
of the South. Now is there any pos
sible offset? We start handicapped
on account Of the abnormal amount
of weevils this past season going into
Information which the farmer did no.
thing to prevent and an account OF
the abnormal weather which made alb
normal emergence-on these accounts
the South starts cotton production
this season heavily handicapped and
there are only two ways, as see it,
to offset this danger.
Offsets
First, we may have season that
is particularly destructive to weevil
life, such as great heat and long
6ro,1+bc h.1+ No man can gamble on