THE BOLL-WEEVIL 13 



ing until they have something to say. Dr. Science 

 and his staff have been of untold help to us in the 

 corn-belt, and you can take my word that before 

 long you will find that those entomologists are the 

 best friends you have, and that they will find a way 

 to save you. Don't listen to the talkers, they are 

 mostly men who do that to get into politics. You 

 put your faith in Dr. Science, and mind what I tell 

 you." 



A short time after Cotton and Corn had this talk 

 the entomologist said: "We have found that the 

 weevils suffer heavy losses in winter and are so 

 weakened by spring that it is necessary for them to 

 increase their numbers greatly before they can do 

 great damage. We must force the cotton to get 

 ahead of the weevil. To do this we must prepare 

 our land in the fall and winter. The seed-bed must 

 be well prepared and plant-food must be given 

 intelligently. After the cotton is up, keep the weeds 

 down and cultivate often and shallow in order to 

 keep a blanket of loose soil at the surface ; this pre- 

 vents the soil from drying out and is called a soil- 

 mulch. We must save the soil-moisture because 

 the cotton needs it when the hot and dry weather 

 sets in. If you allow the surface of the soil to pack 

 or let a crust form by rain, you will lose the soil- 

 moisture quickly and the plants will suffer. 



"The soil-water helps to bring the plant-food in 



