The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1922-02-16
MUST REDUCE ACREAGE.
Writer Says You Cannot Beat Boil
Weevil if You Plant Much
Cotton.

ing TRIP InrOuSn tne colloH pelI
interviewing farmers and writing
a series of articles for his paper.
He began at Texas end will come on
through, to South Carolina. His ar
ticles are interesting and instructive.
The facts of his series are printed be-
low:
As the result of my inquiries so
far on boil weevil conditions, 1 want
now, to sound one keynote to the
farmers of the southeast as they are
pitching their crops for this year,
and that is as to the absolute neces-
sity of reducing the years cotton
acreage to the limit.
I have rot seen cotton grower in
Texas but who agrees that this is a
prerequisite to overcoming the on
slaught of the boil weevil.
IL cannot possibly be cone in any
other way, and any effort to plant
and to cultivate a normal acreage of
cotton spells ruin before a seed is
put in the ground.
Last years cotton acreage was far
shorter than that Of the year before.
This years cotton acreage must be
far shorter than that of last year.
Otherwise the boil weevil will go
or with his destructive work.
The man who planted for five bales
last year should plant for only half
as much this year, for by having
that much less to cultivate, and be-
ing enabled thereby to give better
attention to his reduced acreage, the
probabilities are two to one that the
yield of this half acreage will be
greater than the yield on double the
acreage last year.
l have found many things about
the boil weevil so far, and / am go
ing to find out many more things be-
fore l quit his track.
But the first and foremost thing
that l have ascertained to he abso-
lutely necessary in dealing with the
vicious little pest is that it must be
fought in restricted quarters.
Will Whip Fight Every Time if
Fought out B2ii Weevi's Way.
The boil weevil asks nothing bet
ter than that he be given opoortuni-
ty to fight his way over big farm
areas that cannot possibly be culti-
waited on the intensive plan. He will
whip such a fight every time.
Restrict him, however, to fields
that can be covered every day by the
human hand, and in which every
plant can be under constant surveil-
lance and the fight against him is
made just that much the easier.
Later on, l am going into full de-
tails showing just how much land
per plow has been put into cotton in
the bool weevil section over here. and
l am going to give instances of the
results accomplished. .
But it is safe here to say that six
acres to the plow is enough.
If one man can take care of GER
tain acreage keeping his eye on every
stalk, ten men can take care Of just
ten times that much.
But if one man plants and tries to
take care of the acreage that requires
the attention Of ter men then his crop
goes to the pot in the very begin
ming and he will have little or moth
ing left to stand for his time, ener-
gy, his effort and his money-that is
nothing but debt, for as sure 2s the
sun shines he viii wind up his crop
year in debt.
So early in this series | send an
urgent word of caution to hold down
the cotton acreage this year.
Man Who Plants Increase Acreage
this Year Needs a Guardian.
The man who plants more than he
did last year needs guardian. He
brings trouble to himself and worse
than that threatens ruin to his Eeigh-
bors.
This year it will be the man who
plants the short-the very short acre
age to the plow that will stand the
best chance of winning out.
There is no other possible way to
do it.
Every cotton grower with whom l
have talked in Texas says this is true.
They have tried every way out here
and this is the only way by which
Texas has been able to meet the boil
weevil on the same platform and to
fight it out with him to finish.
Do not let anybody mislead you
this year into the planting of a large
acreage to the plow upon the assump-
+;o,, tbot this that. or the other kind