The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-07-22
BOIL WEEVIL
CONTROL


David r. Coker Insists That
His Plan is Best and Most
Economical
Editor Daily Item:
notice appearing in all of the
daily and weekly papers this week
an article from Clemson College
purporting: to give advice as to the
latest and most approved methods
of. handling the boil. weevil.
I an sorr7 to take issue with
the weevil experts of the college
on this matter but feel compelled
to do so as my ewn experiments
and those of many Of the best
farmers in-the state lead me to diff
fer from them in important par
ticulars. Clemson College is sup
ported principally by the farmers
of South Carolina and submit that
where there is important evidence
available from many Of the best
and most reliable farmers in the
state, it should be given at least
equal weight with that Of the sex
pertmenters in Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma.
The boil weevil has been ip South
Carolina for several days, during
most of which time the govern
ment and college experts have adj
vocated a method of weeyil con-
troll which was expensive, which
required much judgment in its. ap-
plication and which involved night
work. Besides in practice last
year the government method prov
ed to be dangerous in that some
crops were severely damaged by
plant lice after two or three appli-
catiops of the. calcium arsenate in
dust form.
I have abundant evidence that
the early poisoning of the weevils
by the n1olasses-calcium arsenate
method is a success and is SO cheap
and simple that it can be put into
universal practice. / think it fair
deduction from the results obtained
that, when put into universal
practice, it will greatly delay the
rapid increase of weevils and al
low the whole crop to fruit for
some time longer than when early
control methods are not applied.
The experience of Mr.. McDufe,
farm manager for Ex-Governor r.
I. Manning on his Meredith place,
is sufficient on this subject al
though it is confirmed by prac-
tically every other farmer who
used the molasses treatment in
time. Mr.. McDufie poisoned his
worst infested field of 10 acres on
or about May "a, at which time
there We're no squares upon the
cotton. Up to- that time he had
picked weevils from this field fre-
quently and upon the day of pois-
oning was getting at the rate Of
about 200 weevils per acre. Mr..
McDuffie poisoned this field sever
al times between May "a and June
81, on which day he told me. that
he had frequently and carefully
examined this field during that in
terval (May "a to June 2T and
had sent hands into it to search
Ger weevils, also that Ex-Governor
Manning had been with him on at
teast one, occasion searching for
weeviis, that he had been, unable
to fnd a single live weevil in this
field. during that period, that he
had been carefully over the field
during the past few days and had
found but two small pots in which
any squares were being punctured. !.
(These oe course he had carefully
picked up). The cotton referred to
was planted in March and was car
ried to the end of the period of
weevil emergence with practically
no infestation or damage. About
one week later. Mr.. McDuf1e told
me that he had just plowed over a
65-acre field and had offered his
plow hands SC for each punctured
square. They had turned in about
100 squares or 1-2 squares per
acre.
I could quote Messrs. w. A. and
Geo. Stuckey of Lee county; j. W.
Goodson and r. p. Gillespie Of
Hartsville, A. H. Rogers. of Society
Hill besides my own. force Of ex-
perimenters and host Of other
farmers in this section to the effect
that applications of the molasses
mixture applied for the first time
from May "a On up to June II
and even later upon cotton which
was at the time badly infested with
weevils resulted in the prompt and
practically total destruction of the
weevils. :.
1t is hardly reasonable to sup
pose that the weeyils chose the
particular date Of May "a to dis
appear from the field of ex-Goy-
ernor Manning, May so from the
fields Of Mr.. Goodson and June II
from our own fields {these being
the dates upon which these three
parties MADE the first application
of poison). 2,
1t seems to me no less fool
hardy to do nothing to control the
boil weevil until squares have
formed on the plants and of course
some of them been punctured by
the old weevils. 1t is perfectly
feasible as stated by the Clemson
authority to kill these early Wee
wills by applications Of arsenical
poison. Why is it not equally
feasible to keep on killing them
for a period Of 80 days when a
method which will certainly do this
c....ol - n coct nf ho1lt S0c