April, '14] HINDS: BLACK WEEVIL CONTROL 205 



likely to germinate at all and if they do start the growth of the young 

 plant is likely to be weak. This poor seed means often broken stands 

 and weak or barren stalks which decrease yields generally. Beside 

 this, the crop of early maturing upland corn is commonly seriously 

 injured even before it is stored, and this injury is continued and mul- 

 tiplied during the storage. Late matured corn, such as is commonly 

 produced on the wetter lowlands and river bottoms, is rarely seriously 

 injured unless through being mixed with more heavily infested corn 

 in storage. In the method of storage that is most common in the 

 South, the corn is allowed to stand in the field until after frost occurs; 

 then it is gathered, often when wet, with the whole husk left on and 

 stored in very open cribs which are entirely unfitted for any fumigation 

 treatment. The most common special practice for weevil control is 

 to sprinkle the corn with salt or dust it with air-slaked lime, etc., 

 as it is being stored. In these storage practices there are many ele- 

 ments that contribute to serious loss. 



There is a large waste in the storage space required.^ In studying 

 several varieties of corn of widely different type, w'e have found that 

 the space required to store corn that will yield one bushel of grain, is 

 often from three to four times as great w^here it is stored with the full 

 husk on as is required for the shelled grain. An average of the results 

 for several varieties required for 56 pounds of shelled corn a year old, 

 about 1^ cubic feet; for the same corn, ears husked, 2 cubic feet; with 

 "slipshuck" on, 2| cubic feet; and with the full husk on, 3.6 cubic 

 feet. 



The waste in actual corn destroyed is a yet more serious item. The 

 corn crop of Alabama for 1912 was about 54,000,000 bushels. While 

 this was less than two thirds of what the state used, it is probable that 

 something like 10,000,000 bushels was carried through into the early 

 summer of 1913 and suffered extensive insect injury. ' Much corn is 

 simply riddled by weevils before the end of November. Chemical 

 analyses together with weight determinations have shown that corn 

 may lose fully tw^o thirds of its nutritive value during a year's storage. 

 The loss in feeding value is even greater since it becomes so repellant 

 to stock that horses, cattle and mules and even hogs may reject it. 

 Poultry alone eat weevily corn with relish. It is probably conserva- 

 tive to estimate the loss to Alabama's corn crop alone at 5 cents per 

 bushel per month after November 1st, for about one half of our yield 

 that continues in storage up to April and for all of the corn stored after 



1 There is quite a wide variation in the volume of given weights of corn shelled 

 and on the cob and in the space required to store different varieties with and without 

 husks, etc. The volume of 56 lbs. of shelled corn has varied as widely as from 1.04 

 to 2.08 cu. ft. 



