PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 53 



gives them all the necessary moisture to plant a good crop of cotton. 

 Where they do not inundate they do not plant cotton, but put in corn, 

 wheat and truck. 



"You will please present this solution of the problem to your execu- 

 tive committee on the boll weevil prize, and at the same time enter my 

 claim for the $50,000 premium. 



"The State Governments here, have each appointed a technical commis- 

 sion of entomologists to constantly look out for infested cotton planta- 

 tions or infested cotton seed. In the first instance they burn the cotton 

 plants on the plantation and pay a just indemnity to the planter; in the 

 second instance they order the cotton seed delivered to our mills here, 

 and oblige us to burn the hulls, lint and refuse, thereby saving the oil and 

 cake. 



"I have been here since 1892 constantly, and have heard of no ravages 

 by the boli weevil, although you can find him very easily, but in very 

 insignificant numbers. 



"Trusting this information will be useful to you, and with kindest re- 

 gards, T remain, "Yours very sincerely, 



(Signed) "JUAN F. BRITTINGHAM." 



"The method set forth in this letter may not commend itself to the 

 scientist nor the practical planter who has never encountered any obstacle 

 toward raising a profitable cotton crop, but we are here to consider any 

 and all suggestions, eliminating those that are impractical and adopting 

 those that commend themselves to us, and as was suggested by the Sec- 

 retary of Agriculture, at Dallas, every cotton planter must resolve him- 

 self into an experimental station on all the methods that have been set 

 before him. The individual financial interest of the cotton seed oil 

 miller is most paramount, if as stated in numerous statistics that the de- 

 struction to the cotton crop of Texas each year for the past two years 

 has been twenty per cent, of her production being a low estimate. Should 

 this be extended to the cotton belt it would mean of last year's crop at 

 present prices of ten and one-half cents, $112,875,000, thus reducing the 

 volume of cotton seed to be crushed by the oil mills if they were all 

 crushing seed, viz : 618 mills, about 800,000 tons of seed, or in other words 

 it would throw twenty per cent, of 618 mills into the "National Pawn 

 Shop," which means in the hands of a receiver, and reduce the values 

 produced from cotton seed and its products at least 20,000,000 of dollars 

 annually, besides paralyzing the remaining mills, who would no doubt 

 scramble among themselves for seed to demonstrate the survival of the 

 fittest, reducing the profit sharing to such a minimum that the capital in- 

 vested in cotton seed oil mills would be compelled to remain passive and 

 await the developments of this national crusade against this rapacious 

 enemy of the South's progress and manifest destiny of supplying the 



