A CONSIDERATION OF THE CULTURAL SYSTEM. 107 



A CONSIDERATION OF THE CULTURAL SYSTEM FOR THE BOLL 

 WEEVIL IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT OBSERVATIONS. 



B.y A. F. C'oNRADi, College Station, Tex. 



The past season marked an epoch in cotton growing in Texas. 

 Ever since the advent of the cotton l)oll weevil there has l)een a 

 general inclination on the part of the cotton growers to the appli- 

 cation of sprays or the operations of Aarious kinds of machines 

 and nostrums for the rapid suppression of the pest. The disap- 

 pointments were many, yet people continued to hope along that 

 line. They had almost superhuman faith that scientists would dis- 

 cover some simple boll-weevil exterminators. These hopes could 

 not be satisfied, and the boll weevil was at one time regarded as 

 the greatest curse in the cotton-growing section of the State. The 

 various entomologists and the boll weevil commissioners received 

 many requests for testing machinery. The most recent agitation 

 was in regard to the efficacy of Paris green. 



Although the cultural system had been recommended by the Bureau 

 of Entomology of the United States Department of Agriculture as 

 the chief source of reliance in securing a cotton crop, something sim- 

 pler' and quicker was desired. Now, however, the people are ignoring 

 the different machines and nostrums and have ceased to look to such 

 measures for relief. At the same time good cultivation is so thor- 

 oughly appreciated that many are at a loss to know whether the 

 boll weevil ought to be regarded as a friend or an enemy. The 

 jjrogress of the boll weevil has created a revolution in cotton cul- 

 ture of far-reaching importance. This fact is fully realized by the 

 thinking public, who are accepting the cultural system as the most 

 relial)le and rational procedure in the production of a cotton crop. 

 The inquiries received by us bear out this point very forcibly. Xo 

 longer do we hear the monotonous questions: " A^^lich is the best 

 machine with which to destroy the boll weevil ? '' " Which is the 

 best arsenical with which to poison the boll weevil?" Not one 

 such question was asked during the past season — not even questions 

 similar to those. At present, however, inquiries received are: 

 "Where can I get a good early cotton seed?" "Should the seed 

 bed be flat-broke or ridged ? " " Which is best — shallow or deep 

 cultivation of cotton?" Other general information on cotton cul- 

 ture is often asked for. Again w^e are frequently in receipt of letters 

 asking for advice as to the prudence of shipping cotton seed from 

 infested to uninfested localities and for the method of fumigating 

 the seed, showing that the farmer desires to take every precaution 

 to avoid dissemination of the weevil through the markets. A great 

 many inquiries regarding the fall destruction of cotton stalks reach 



