The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-07-20

tors in the fight for boil weevil con-
troll. AS early as 1895 that grand
daddy of the bugologists, DR.. l.. o.
Howard, now chief of the Bureau of
| Entomology at Washington made
| recommendation which if it had been
carried out would probably have pre-
vented, and at least would have
greatly retarded, the progress of the
boil weevil north of the Rio Grande.
DR.. Howard at that early date was
sufficiently farsighted as an ento-
mologist to perceive the danger from
this pest for which means of control
were then unknown and he urged the
prohibition of cotton raising for a
period of years in belt along the
southern border of Texas, just be-
yond the small area then infested. A
rigid quarantine against the crop
from the detected district in connec-
tion with this barrier raised by stop
ping the food supply of the weevil
would have saved the situation, but
it would have required an exceeding
ly unpopular piece of legislation to
secure the result and DR.. Howard's
wise advice was regarded as the raw
ings of long haired scientist and
was ignored,
The methods of prevention and
control of the boil weevil which have
been developed and attempted are
many and varied.
They range from the introduction
of other forms of insect life to attack
the weevil, through many modifica-
tions of former careless cultivation to
the highly scientific control by chemi-
cal sprays.
In the last twenty years there have
proba bly, been more official and pri-
vate controversies in the south about
the best way to handle the boil wee
vii than there were about the slavery
question and the Civil War. 1t is a
live issue and it is not losing in in
terest, rather the reverse.
1t is estimated that one pair of boil
weevils will produce over 100000
progeny in single season and though
these figures must be supposititious,
they indicate the tremendous scope of
the problem. There is no expecta-
ton at present of exterminating the
veevil; and efforts are merely to con-
troll it and reduce it's destruction to
an economical minimum.
The peculiar feature of this inva-
sion to the northernmost limits of
the cotton belt is that the weevil has
apparently become acclimated. Orig
mating in the tropics, when this pest
first reached the latitude where frost
sometimes prevailed in the winter
months, it died out from the cold;
now it has been demonstrated that
the hibernating weevil will live
through a comparatively cold winter.
In 1904 the department of agricul-
ture introduced an ant from Guata-
mala into Texas as an enemy to the |
cotton boil weevil. The ant was an
enemy but the weevil continued to !
increase and prosper despite the op-
position.
Improved methods of cultivation of |
cotton include primarily pro-
gramme of cleanliness in the planta-
tions, and destruction of the cotton |
stalks by burning all fence line rub
bish in the fall in order to extermi-
nate the alternating weevil. Deep |
plowing to turn the live weevils so |
far under ground they cannot dig
their way out, earlier planting to
permit the plants to mature before
the young weevils start feeding and |
constant cultivation are undoubtedly |
SuoCIlfS, do 10 dIoO q AoOA WI SAoA |
selection of the cotton seed.
Mechanical devices invented in
clude machines to shake the weevils |
from the growing plants and vacu-
um machine to suck the bugs from |
the bolls.
The problem has been approached
by the chemist with fertilizers to
strengthen the plant on the one hand,
and deadly poisons to kill the pest on
the other.
Probably every known poisonous
compound has been tried, starting
with Paris green and London purple
in the early days and including sui
phur compounds, lead and calcium
arsenate, and all the standard spray
materials. Special preparations for
the purpose inc lde compounds Of ar
senic with caustic soda and wood ash
es, and with cayenne pepper, potash
and other ingredients. And there