THE BOLL WEEVIL PROBLEM. 25 
siderable time to multiply. They are unable to breed until squares 
are put on by the plants, since the food obtained from the fruit is 
required before reproduction can begin. Moreover, at the time the 
first squares are put on, the development of the immature stages is 
comparatively slow, not reaching the very rapid rate that obtains 
during the warm days and nights of the summer. For these reasons 
it is possible for the farmer to rush his crop in such a way that a 
large number of squares and bolls will be formed before the weevils 
have multiplied to a serious extent. Of course, under usual condi- 
tions the weevils will ultimately multiply so that the crop put on 
after a certain date will all be destroyed. This, however, is of no 
importance, since a top crop in weevil regions is entirely out of the 
question. The time it takes the weevils to recuperate after the vicis- 
situdes of winter, especially after the entirely feasible destruction of 
multitudes in the fall, can thus be taken advantage of in the produc- 
tion of a crop. 
Removal of plants.—The first step in the procuring of an early crop 
is the early removal of the plants, so that the land may be plowed 
during the fall or winter and the seed bed given thorough and early 
preparation. In fact, such preliminary preparation should be fol- 
lowed for the production of the best cotton crop under any condi- 
tions. The recommendation made is therefore neither onerous nor 
revolutionary. The tendency has often been to neglect the cotton 
fields until spring or at least until “after Christmas.” It would 
repay the farmer many times if he would take the slight additional 
trouble of plowing the fields before that time. Not only a plowing 
but one or more harrowings should be given the land during the 
winter. 
Use of commercial fertilizers—An important step in procuring an 
early crop under many conditions is the use of commercial fertilizers. 
In many large areas in the cotton belt the land is not impoverished 
to the extent that it actually needs fertilizers under normal condi- 
tions. It has been demonstrated many times by the different experi- 
ment stations in the South that the maturity of cotton can frequently 
be hastened materially by the use of fertilizers, especially those con- 
taining a high percentage of phosphoric acid. The recommendation 
for the use of fertilizers in weevil regions, therefore, does not imply 
the exhaustion of the soil. It merely means that fertilizers place in 
the hands of the farmers an important means of averting damage by 
the boll weevil. The proper use of fertilizers is a very complicated 
matter. In fact, in the light of all present knowledge only the most 
general rules can be laid down. Each farmer must experiment with 
the soil or different soils upon his own place and study the results 
to obtain the greatest benefit from fertilizers at the smallest cost. In 
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