THE WEATHER AND THE WEEVIL 85 



April. Frequent but light showers to keep soil moist for 

 germinating seed. Too much moisture tends to rot the 

 seed and cold rain prevents sprouting. 



May requires but a small amount of rain in order to assist 

 the farmer in cleaning out weeds early. 



June to the middle of August is the growing period. June 

 calls for plenty of sunshine, very little rain with air 

 dry during the day but dew at night. 



July to the middle of August the crop can stand some rain 

 if the season has been good. 



August. For the blooming period plenty of warm sunshine 

 with light rains about ten days out of the month. The 

 normal weather conditions of the Cotton Belt are ad- 

 mirably suited to the blooming seasons. Too much rain 

 at this time, however, causes overgrowth of the weed 

 and the squares may drop off. 



September and October require dry weather for the picking 

 season. Rains cause decay of the bolls and serve to 

 discolor and beat out the fiber. 9 



Droughts are more frequent and of greater destruc- 

 tiveness in the Western Belt, causing the greatest disaster 

 in western Texas, not so much in Oklahoma, and less in 

 Arkansas and west Louisiana. 10 Lack of moisture causes 

 the growth of the plant to be stunted. One or two small 

 bolls bloom at the top and the growth of the plant is 

 over unless it rains. If rain falls the plants start up 

 again and in six weeks will produce a new gfowth of 

 bolls. From this possibility, Hubbard says, comes the 

 saying that "Texas can promise more and make less and 

 promise less and make more than any other cotton 

 state." u 



9 Ibid., pp. 141-45. 



10 Hubbard, Cotton and the Cotton Market, p. 54. 



11 Ibid., p. 35. 



