54 



will be obtained as a direct result of the more efTective 

 control of the weevil that is obtained from making the 

 early fall campaign. 



It Pays to Destroy the Stalks Early in Fall. — From 

 the many demonstrations which have shown the great 

 value of early destruction of stalks in fighting the 

 weevil, we maj'^ consider one definite case in which 

 the records were carefully kept and definitely authen- 

 ticated by the U. S. Bureau of Entomolog}\ On the 

 Gulf coast of Texas in the fall of 1906, all of the 

 planters in an isolated localitj', controlling together 

 about 400 acres of cotton, were persuaded to destroy 

 their cotton stalks by burning during the first 

 ten days of October. No cotton was grown nearer than 

 fifteen miles, and here across a bay a suitable check 

 area was found. In the check field stalks were allowed 

 to stand as usual until planters were ready to begin 

 their spring work. Without making any other changes 

 in the practice usually followed by the planters in each 

 of these localities, the j'ield obtained in 1907, upon 

 the 400 acres averaged better than two-thirds of a bale 

 per acre in spite of the fact that the soil was rather 

 poor and sandy. No weevils could be. found in this 

 tract until after the first week in July. Upon the check 

 area hardly one-half of this yield was obtained, al- 

 though the land here was richer than upon the 400 

 acre tract. Weevils were abundant on the check area 

 from the time cotton was planted while where 

 stalks were destroyed no weevils could be found until 

 about July 10. The difference in yield can be at- 

 tributed only to the difference in the manner of hand- 

 ling the stalks the preceding fall. 



$20 Per Acre on 400 Acres. — At the market value of 

 cotton that j^ear, the increased yield upon the 400 acre 

 tract due to fall destruction of the stalks was worth 

 fully $20 per acre, or more than enough to have bought 

 the land upon which the crop was grown. Somewhat 

 similar good results can be obtained anywhere if the 

 fall campaign can be made generally. 



Benefit Certain to Man Who Makes The Fight. — 

 Many farmers ask "what good will it do me to destroy 

 my stalks in the fall if my neighbor does not destroy 

 his likewise?" The answer is that the man, farmer A, 

 who makes the fight will receive practically all of the 

 benefit from what he does regardless of the inaction of 

 his neighbor, farmer B. This is true for several rea- 



