PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. Jl 



problem has been studied in Texas, as it never was before. Not only that 

 problem, but the whole question of animal life upon the farm, depending 

 on the production of that farm, has been studied, as never before. And 

 reasoning from this, we may look forward, Mr. Chairman, when we can 

 say that the boll weevil has caused our farmers to understand the produc- 

 tion of cotton and other growths, as never before. 



But, my friends, do not forget that it is only by intelligent and persist- 

 ent efforts that these results are to be accomplished. I have the honor to 

 be connected with an agricultural paper in our State, of which a few 

 copies were distributed here, by courtesy of Dr. Stubbs. yesterday morning. 

 The reading people of our State have come to us and said: "I own a 

 farm, I own a plantation here, I have three managers on my plantation. 

 I want every one of my managers to study this situation, or this subject." 

 Send that paper to my managers. Nothing of that kind had ever occurred 

 in Texas before ; because cotton was produced without any particular cart- 

 er study. The result has been that our people are taking hold of the 

 situation, with a great deal of hope and confidence. One of the most 

 intelligent farmers of our State planted an improved variety of cotton, 

 and fertilized it with acid phosphate. That was planted upon lands which 

 5 years ago, he would have scorned the suggestion of using fertilizers on, 

 as a requirement to gathering a crop, but which had become unproduc- 

 tive, before the weevil invaded that district. He secured a bale of cotton 

 to the acre, before the 23rd day of October. The last picking of that 

 cotton was on the 23rd day of October. But every other boll of that cot- 

 ton, secured after that time, was badly stained, by reason of the fact that 

 one or more mothers had laid in each boll, and the worm had developed 

 inside, and had destroyed from one or two of the four or five locks of cot- 

 ton. After the 24th day of October, there was no cotton to be found there, 

 because there were no young forms, no young bolls ; all of that part of the 

 cotton had been taken off the pest. This is but one instance, but it can 

 be multiplied a hundred times, in the experience of our people. 



But do not reason from that, that this was an easy thing to do. As 

 Secretary of the Texas Cotton Convention, I come in contact with the 

 average cotton grower, as well as with the intelligent cotton grower. As 

 I intimated yesterday, to reach the average cotton grower, is a most diffi- 

 cult problem. Go to the small cotton farmer, who is not a reader, who 

 will not hear of this Convention for three months to come, because his 

 supply of information is so restricted that it comes to him by word of 

 mouth; after a while tell him that there has been a cotton convention, 

 which resolved thus and so, or there was one in Texas which resolved 

 thus and so; and it is a far cry, my friends. Results are largely wasted 

 upon that man. You may straighten your farmer's institute movement, 

 and I hope you will do that, but that man is difficult to reach even by a 

 farmer's institute. I am an enthusiastic advocate of that work, and have 



