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fested plants on November 12 as survived after similar work on Octo- 
ber 13. 
Mr. J. D. Mitchell, of the Bureau of Entomology, calls attention 
to a striking example of the value of the fall destruction of the wee- 
vils that came to his attention in 1908. On opposite sides of the 
Guadaloupe River near Victoria, Tex., were two farmers, each hay- 
ing about 40 acres in cotton. In one case the stalks were uprooted 
and burned in September, 1907, and in the other they were allowed to 
stand until shortly before planting time in the spring of 1908. They 
were equally good farmers, and the soil was the same on the two 
places. In the first case the crop of 1908 was 15 bales and in the 
other 34 bales. The work done during the preceding fall plainly 
increased the crop about fivefold. 
No definite rule can be laid down as to the proper time for de- 
stroying the weevils upon and in the fruit of the plants in the 
fall. In general, the proper time is whenever the weevils have 
reached such numbers as to infest practically all of the squares that 
are being set. This may occur a month or more earlier in some sea- 
sons than in others. Fall destruction as late as November will ac- 
complish much, but several times the number of weevils can be de- 
stroyed if the work be done in October. Therefore the rule should 
be to destroy the infested plants at the earliest possible date in the 
fall. It is much better to sacrifice a small amount of cotton than to 
defer the operation. The loss will more than be made good by an 
increase in the next crop. 
Some objections to the work of destroying the weevils in the fall 
are frequently raised. The principal one is that the labor supply is 
insufficient to enable planters to have the crop picked out in time for 
such fall destruction as is recommended. One of the respects in 
which the boll weevil will make revolutionary changes in the system 
of producing cotton is that smaller areas than formerly must be cul- 
tivated by each hand. The production can best be kept up or increased 
by more intensive methods on smaller areas. If this principle be put 
in operation on plantations in so far as it is practicable, the objection 
to fall destruction on account of the scarcity of labor will tend to 
disappear. A minor objection raised is that the process tends to im- 
poverish the soil. As a matter of fact, the burning of the stalks re- 
moves only a small amount of the fertilizing elements, and, more- 
over, the practice now is to burn the plants a few months later. In 
“Tn this connection attention is directed to one of the many advantages of 
having the crop picked out early. The earlier this is done the cleaner the lint 
will be, and the better the price. Moreover, the longer the unpicked cotton 
remains in the fields the greater will be the amount that falls to the ground and 
soon passes beyond recovery. From every standpoint the cotton should be picked 
as rapidly as possible, 
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