The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-07-21

tilizer association, Atlanta, has writ
ten letter to David R. Coker, Harts-
vile, dated July 10, and sent copy
to The State. The letter follows.
have received your letter answer
ing mine of recent date and am
seizing the first opportunity to reply.
Ny work has been keeping me so con-
stantIy away from the office that re-
plies have not been as prompt AS they
otherwise would have been.
/ find that you have taken me to
task for something which 1 think my
letter did not say. Your letter says;
s'I do not agree with you at all that
we can not accept as conclusive tests
made by educated and reliable farm
ers.'
/ submit that you have quite mis-
read what l said: "But where proper
methods are used for getting exact
truth. the findings of farmers are just
as good as the findings of scientists.
In fact, some of our most important
agricultural discoveries have been
made by farmers"
also said: "The tests in progress
this year can not be judged, we think
until the end of the season" If your
statement is based on this last quota
ton, then I must insist that any con-
elusive evidence of boil weevll con-
troll must be valued in cotton, cotton
at harvest time-no other measuring
rod will do.
accept the evidence you present,
but it was not necessary for me to
accept it in order to be convinced
that poisoned molaSses would Kill
weevils. was convinced of that by
abundant evidence last year.
MY Indictment of poisoned molas-
ses as a means of killing weevils is:
(l 1t is neither as effective nor as
inexpensive as calcium arsenate dust
on young cotton, which is the time
when the effectiveness of poisoned
nnolasses is greatest.
A pound of calcium arsenate dust
will successfully treat an acre when
cotton is small. This year a pound OF
calcium arsenate costs ten TO 10
cents, and it costs less to apply dust
than it costs to apply molasses.
(2) AS the cotton grows larger the
effectiveness of poisoned molasses de-
creases and becomes negligible, while
the effectiveness of the dust poison
does not decrease.
~ Calcium arsenate dust is not
only more effective than poisoned
molasses in the early period, but be-
cause of it's greater effectiveness
throughout the period of cotton
growth, it holds down infestation
more successfully and renders the
danger less at the migrating period
az Poisoned molasses on cotton IS
not a means of protection at migrat-
ing time. Only calcium arsenate dust
on the cotton affords protection.
81 Poisoned molasses attracts ana
kills honey bees and other insects
that love sweets, whose greatest SER
vice to the farmer is in feTE'lizlng
the flowers of crops, thereby increas-
ing the yield.
(6) Poisoned sweets, because OF
their sweetness, are eaten greedlly by
animals. Cattle have been killed by
feeding on them. Mules that have
brushed poisoned sweets OF OF the
cotton on to their legs and licked the
sweet material off are reported &c
have been killed.
The danger Of poisoned sweets to
animals is not great and l 40 not
rank that objection as Important AS
the other objections cited.
want to call your attention to
the fact that it is no. easy 10 Judge
the effectiveness Of poison applied
early in the season.. 1t is then 7nst
the old weevils are iy:n: OFF r"2.diy'
On account of lateness of cotton this
year, a greater percentage of wee
Wis died a natural death before
squares formed than ordinarily.
All that survived until they could
puncture a square died shortly t1e1e-
after. Then there was period when
we had practically 10 old weevhs and
unless their eggs had ;iatched o1t IN
to new ones, you could nos expect to
find hardly any weevi!s in the cotton
It is, of course, the wee1,1S that are
now Matching out that thr eaten Tx
crop seriously.
1t is because many wears die DC
fore they can find squares to pune,