28 
case of unavoidably delayed planting the best course to pursue is to 
cultivate the fields in the most thorough manner possible. Under 
most conditions the old plantation rule “ once a week and one in a 
row ” should be made to apply. This will not result in the direct 
destruction of many weevils, but it causes the plants to continue unin- 
terruptedly in their growth. By all means such operations as deep 
cultivation, and cultivation close to the plants, which causes shedding, 
should be avoided. In many instances a fair crop already set and 
beyond danger from the weevil has been lost by running the plows 
so close that the side roots were cut and the plants have shed practi- 
cally all the fruit. When this happens during the middle or latter 
part of the season the weevils will certainly prevent the putting on of 
any more fruit. The general practice of laying by, by scraping the 
middles with a wide sweep, leaves a hard surface which causes loss of 
moisture. and shedding. Where the weevil occurs, every precaution 
must be taken to avoid shedding, as the insect will certainly prevent 
the maturity of the later fruit and, moreover, will be forced to 
attack bolls which would otherwise not be injured. 
Effect of late cultivation—A very conspicuous illustration of the 
disastrous effects of careless late cultivation came to the attention of 
the Bureau of Entomology during the present season (1908). It was 
learned that some planters in the Red River Valley below Shreveport, 
La., were making fair crops (in one case 600 bales on 900 acres), while 
others were making very small yields as, for instance, in one case 200 
bales on 800 acres. Upon investigation it was found that all the 
planters in the neighborhood were compelled to put all their hands 
on levee work for five weeks to save their places. During that time 
the cotton remained uncultivated. After the subsidence of the flood 
the fields were plowed. Where this work was done carefully the good 
crops were being produced. In cases where the plows were run too 
deeply and too close to the plants excessive shedding had taken place 
and the weevils prevented the putting on of any more fruit. Careful 
investigation on several places where the essential conditions were 
identical left no doubt that the cause of the difference in yields was 
primarily the difference in summer cultivation. 
Occasionally a farmer is found who has obtained better yields on 
fields where cultivation has been discontinued early. In fact, the 
writer has seen fields full of grass that were outyielding perfectly 
clean ones on the same plantation. Such situations have caused 
erroneous conclusions. As a matter of fact, the explanation is that 
the late, careless cultivations had done more harm than good. The 
importance of careful shallow summer cultivations can not be too 
strongly emphasized. 
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