90 HUMAN FACTORS IN COTTON CULTURE 



the first weevils were found : "There can be no doubt that 

 this insect may become the most serious enemy to the 

 cotton plant with which cotton growers in this country 

 have had to contend and every effort should be made to 

 prevent its further spread," : and added "none of the 

 general applications of insecticides will be of the slightest 

 value against this species." :1 From the time the weevil 

 first invaded Mexico in 1848 no organized fight had been 

 made against it. As a result, large areas were laid waste 

 and taken out of the area of cotton culture. 



Texas followed the same course of non-resistance. 

 Dr. Howard in 1894 advised the passage of legislation 

 empowering agricultural commissioners of counties to 

 enforce remedial measures. A report of Professor Town- 

 send of the Division of Entomology in 1895 earnestly 

 advised the creation of a cotton free zone along the Rio 

 Grande. The recommendation was not taken seriously. 

 Texas failed to realize the extent of the peril to the 

 cotton industry. Added to this was a natural hesitancy 

 in forbidding to the farmers who always raised the first 

 bale in the United States the chief crop which the cli- 

 mate permitted. 22 It has been said that in the early days 

 a ten-mile no-cotton zone properly enforced would have 

 stamped out the evil. 23 Such measures were taken in 1917 

 against the pink bollworm after Texas had learned her 

 lesson. This insect, which is estimated to destroy 50 

 per cent of the crop, was found in a cotton field at 

 Hearne, Texas. The Hearne district was then made a 



20 Ibid., p. 342. 21 Ibid., p. 339. 



22 W. D. Hunter, "Present Status of Boll Weevil in the United 

 States," Dept. of Agriculture Yearbook, 1901, p. 371. 



23 C. M. Munn, "Cotton Boll Weevil Invasion," Independent, Feb. 

 18, 1904. 



