36 



similar SQctions whore liic weevil has been for three 

 or more years if you would get a fair idea of the in- 

 jury the weevil is likely to do in your section. See 

 Plate 1- This matter is discussed in Bulletin No. 178. 



Slimmer Rainfall Most Important Factor. — It has 

 been found that boll weevil injury varies quite directly 

 with the amount of rainfall during the three months 

 of June, July and August, as this is the period when 

 cotton is ])utting on most of the crop. This is the period 

 covered in all cases where rainfall is referred to in the 

 following paragraphs. With a rainfall of more 

 than 18 inches in this period cotton is usually 

 a failure, while with less than 8 inches in these three 

 months, as is the case in western Texas, the weevil is 

 likely to be a negligible factor and may not be able to 

 survive through the season. The average rainfall 

 through the Cotton Belt for these months is 14 inches. 

 In Alabama this 14-inch line passes through Randolph, 

 Chambers, Lee, Russell. Bullock, Montgomery. Cren- 

 sliaw, Butler, Conecuh, Monroe, Wilcox, Marengo, and 

 Choctaw Counties. On Plate I, the normal rainfall is 

 shown by the figures in each county at approximately 

 the location of the weather recording station. 



Southern Third of Alabama ^yill Lose Half or More, 

 of Cotton Crop. — Along this 14-inch line in older in- 

 fested territory the average decrease in cotton yield, 

 including weevil injury and reduction in acre- 

 age, has been fifty per cent. Between the 

 14-inch line and the Gulf Coast, where the 

 rainfall if from 18 to 20 inches, cotton is bound to be 

 a very uncertain crop, making a fair yield in very 

 dry seasons and liable to be a failure in wet seasons, 

 lu this i)ortion of the State the largest degree of change 

 must be made in the whole farming and economic 

 system on account of the weevil. Here we must have 

 the largest reduction in cotton acreage and a portion- 

 ate increase in other crops, pastures and livestock. 



Reducing Cotton Acreage. — No man should attempt 

 to raise more acres of cotton j)er plow than he is 

 reasonably certain of being able to give all of the extra 

 care that will be demanded ujider weevil conditions, 

 even if there should be a little more tlian the average 

 rainfall that is due in his section. 44ierefore, in the 

 counties along the line of Washington to Henry County 

 and southward, with 16 to 18 inches of summer rain, it 

 is not wise or safe for the average man to try to raise 

 more than 5 acres of cotton per plow. Between this 

 line and a line passing about East and West through 



