20 Farmers’ Bulletin 1262. 
could possibly be followed. The weevils seek out these large plants 
in the early spring and produce progeny much earlier than they 
otherwise could, and these progeny infest the planted cotton at an 
abnormally early date. Volunteer cotton causes the same results 
over a considerable portion of the cotton belt. The cotton seed scat- 
tered about seed houses and gins and along roadsides frequently pro- 
duces plants which furnish early-season breeding places for the 
weevil. Needless to say, all such plants should be destroyed. 
DESTRUCTION OF WEEVILS IN HIBERNATION. 
It is often possible for the farmer to reduce considerably his spring 
weevil infestation by proper winter clean-up measures around his 
fields. The weevils will hibernate successfully in any trash or rub- 
bish, and it is a very good practice to burn over or clean up any such 
situations around the cotton field during the winter, especially the 
fence rows and ditch banks. 
In addition much can be accomplished by the elimination of 
hibernation quarters. Especially along the more northerly portions 
of the weevil zone, the most successful hibernation is largely con- 
fined to the timbered areas, and as a result serious weevil injury is 
only experienced in the fields adjoining such timber. Under such 
conditions it is of the utmost importance to plan all clearing opera- 
tions so that the open areas for cultivation are consolidated into as 
large tracts as possible, thus increasing the amount of land which is 
sufficiently distant from timber to suffer a minimum amount of 
weevil injury. 
LOCATING FIELDS TO AVOID WEEVIL DAMAGE. 
Nearly every farmer who has been raising cotton for a few years 
in the presence of the boll weevil knows that there are certain fields on 
his place where the weevils always appear first and in greatest num- 
bers. With this information as a basis, it is sometimes possible to 
reduce the damage by refraining from planting cotton in such fields 
and planting the more distant fields. This practice, however, is ad- 
visable only when no attempt is made to control the weevil by poison- 
ing. These fields adjoining timber where the weevil infestation is 
heaviest are usually the new lands of the place and are thus the 
most fertile and capable of producing the best cotton crop if the 
weevil injury is eliminated. Furthermore, when such fields adjoin 
hibernation quarters, the weevils concentrate on them instead of 
scattering over larger areas and they serve to a certain extent as trap 
crops, making it possible to poison the weevils on these fields and 
thus prevent their spread over the remainder of the crop. 
