COTTON PROBLEMS IN LOUISIANA. 9 



and this Avould be an advantage for the community as a whole, for 

 the weevils Avould have less opportunity to breed than if i-ome of 

 the cotton were planted very early: and, on the other hand, there 

 would be less danger of injury to the crop from periods of cold or 

 wet weather or from spring floods. ^Vliere spring floods are of 

 frequent occurrence and likely to interfere with early planting it is 

 especially important to learn the extent to which weevil injury may 

 be avoided by other means, such as the control of the habits of 

 branching. 



If the necessary precautions were observed, the power of the weevil 

 to inflict serious injury or destroy the crop would be limited to the 

 unfavorable seasons that might not permit the cotton to set a full 

 crop of Ijolls before the weevils could become destructively numer- 

 ous. That further advantages may be gained, at least in particular 

 cases, by picking up the fallen squares or by the poisoning of over- 

 wintered weevils on the young plants in the spring is not im- 

 probable, but it is certainly a mistake to suppose that these measures 

 can be relied upon and the others neglected.^ 



One of the chief obstacles in the way of a proper appreciation 

 and application of methods of weevil control is likely to come from 

 the fact that there will be occasional good seasons, with enough 

 dry weather in the early part of the growing season to hold the 

 weevils in check, even in districts where no precautions have been 

 taken. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, seasons of this kind 

 have already occurred since the weevils reached Louisiana, and some 

 of the planters have been encouraged to believe that they could go 

 ahead with cotton raising on the same basis as before the weevils 

 arrived. Thus, from the standpoint of permanent improvement of 

 the industry, favorable seasons may be more dangerous than those 

 that show the advantage of adopting improved methods. 



Many people find consolation in the idea that the weevil will pass 

 on in a few years or that some new enemy or other restrictive 

 agency will intervene to mitigate its ravages. But such reflections 

 should not be advanced as reasons for neglecting to adopt better 

 varieties and methods of production, for these improvements are of 

 value quite apart from the problem of weevil resistance, as shown 

 by experiments in California and Virginia, where no weevils exist. 

 The difference is that in the presence of the boll weevil greater in- 

 telligence and skill become necessary to grow cotton successfully 

 and that larger numbers of farmers must adopt the improved 

 methods if production is to be maintained. 



1 Hunter, W. D. The boll weevil problem, with special reference to means of reducing 

 damage. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 512, 46 p., 9 fig., 1912. 



96503°— Cir. 130—13 2 



