49 



he c'onsidcrrd. IMk y will be nieiitioned in tin- order in 

 whicli lliey have been commonly practiced, which is, 

 howcvi r, the inverse order of their real valne. 



\,Graziu<i Xol Recommended. — First, the grazini* 

 oil' of cotton (lelds alter the crop has been gathered. 

 This practice is old and has been quite generally fol- 

 lowed, so far as there was livestock available. The 

 grazing olT of weevil-infested cotton fields destroys 

 tile stalks only slowly ami partially. There is always 

 siifTicient green cotton present somewhere in the field 

 to keep alive the weevils that are already adult or 

 which may emerge before frost occurs. The only con- 

 dition under which grazing can have much value is in 

 the very exceptional cases where the farmer can turn 

 in sulVicient stock to graze ofl" all green cotton within 

 a few days time. The grazing method is therefore un- 

 reliable, unsatisfactory and cannot be recommended. 



2. Burning of Stalks. — This method, preferred in 

 yie past because no better way was then known, invol- 

 ves the cutting or uprooting, piling and burning of the 

 cotton plants. It has many points of advantage in con- 

 trolling the boll weevil, but has also the disadvantage 

 of destroying a considerable amount of vegetable mat- 

 ter which is iKidly needed for building up the soil and 

 mcreasing its productiveness. For this reason we 

 recommend burning stalks onlv where weevil control 

 by deep plf)wing is imi)ossible. 



Prepination For Earning to Leave Ground Smooth. 

 —To i)repare stalks for burning the farmer may up- 

 root or cut them in several ways, (a) Where a cover 

 crop, such as crimson clover, has been worked in at 

 the last cultivation or before the cotton has been com- 

 pletely picked out, the ground may be left in a smooth, 

 practically undisturbed condition and the cotton stalks 

 removed without injuring the cover crop by simply 

 cho])ping oil' the stalks just below the surface of the 

 ground by using sharp, heavy hoes. The stalks may 

 then be piled b}' hand on the field, or better removed 

 from the field by dragging them off with a hay-rake. 

 One man can choj) out the stalks on an acre of average 

 sized cotton in a day. The expense of this method of 

 destruction is therefore not excessive and no extra or 

 unusual tools are required. 



A-Shaped Stalk Cutter. — This stalk cutter, described 

 in Alabama ("circular No. 33. is arranged to cut two rows 

 at a time throwing the stalks from two rows together 



