Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-10-17
STARVE 'EM OUT
Farmers May Kill Weevils by Destroy
ina Stalks Early.

&C. A. Whittle, Soil Improvement Com
mittee.)
Most of the weevils that Will 90
damage to cotton next year are IN tne
cotton fields and will remain there tlii
their food is destroyed.
Their food is green cotton. Kill the
cotton early and the weevil will pegin
his Information sooner. This means
that the weevil may starve to death
before it will ever get into a cotton
patch again.
II the cotton stalks are not killed
early then the weevil will nave
chance to feed until the frost destroys
their food. In that case many weeViils
will go into winter quarters late and
well fed, with good prospects of With
standing hunger and cold of winter.
The Importance Of killing cotton
stalks to starve weevils can not be
stressed too strongly. The longer be-
fore frost, the stalk is killed the better.
To destroy stalks early, Of course
the cotton picking must be hurried up.
It is possible to get cotton picked by
the middle of October over the greater
part of the cotton belt. In the lower
south it is possible to beat that. There
fore, the middle Of October should
see most of the cotton stalks killed.
Quickest Way.
The quickest and safest way to des~
troy cotton stalks is to uproot them
with a plow. Don't undertake to chop
them down. A stub Of cotton stalk
left in the ground may start new
growth and will provide new feed for
the weevils.
Don't wait for favorable condition
of the soil, to break the land. Otten
there is a drought period in the fall
that renders breaking .impracticable.
Do it the quickest way. Uproot the
stalks, and later on, when the season
is right, the dead stalks can be turned
under.
Can poison be applied to kill the late
weevils? 1t would hardly be practic-
able. Though weevils will be killed, 1t
is less expensive and more effective TO
destroy the cotton stalks.
Do not burn cotton stalks to Kill
weevils, but turn them under when the
ground is broken. 1t does not matter
when stalks are turned under so far
&c
Growing winter cover crops is good
practice. Such crops should be more
generally grown by farmers, but a WIN
ter cover crop is not essential to boil
weevil control. What grows on the
land in the winter does not hurt boil
weevil tucked snugly away in hay
stack, in a knot hole, under the bark
of a tree, in a rotten log or stump OF
under the shingles Of houses or barns.
It is only these weevils that are men
ace to cotton next year. Boil weevils
do not have winter quarters in the
ground.
"Hit 'em early and hit 'em late!" is
n good motto to hang up with the gov
ernments rules for applying calcium
arsenate. BY destroying the stalks
soon, just as soon as cotton is picked,
you hit the weevil hard blow where
he lives and send him starving into
winter quarters. Thus you have hit
him late.
BY sprinkling poison with a dust
bag, on the growing buds of young cot
. ton just before squares are attacked
you hit them early.
. Neither hitting them late nor hitting
, them early costs much. Ripping ur
, stalks is cheap. Sprinkling a pound
f of calcium arsenate dust on an acre OF
, young cotton plants requires not more
than Is cents outlay aside from labor
Do these things and apply calcium
arsenate by machine to larger cottor
l according to government rules, ant
your crop is safe. Others have found
it SO and so can you.