THE BOLL-WEEVIL 3 



This is surely my country, and no other plant need 

 ever try to get started here, ahem!!" 



King Cotton had said this in such a haughty way 

 that it made Mr. Corn angry, and he replied : 

 ?Mt seems to me you are taking a great risk." 



"What do you mean?" King Cotton asked gruffly. 



"To grow nothing but cotton over such a large 

 area as the cotton-belt must sooner or later make 

 more cotton than the people can use, and when that 

 happens the cotton will bring a very poor price ; 

 it would be a bad thing when so many people depend 

 on it for their living. Now look at it in another 

 way : year after year you have the same kind of 

 plant growing on the same soil, and all the plants 

 eating the same kind of food ; this must be starv- 

 ing the soil. You are taking plant-food from those 

 soils without putting any back. I don't care how 

 much money a boy has in his bank, if he keeps tak- 

 ing away day after day without putting any back, 

 his bank w r ill become empty in spite of what he may 

 think about it. Will the crop ever fail? It is 

 possible that the cotton-crop may fail some bad sea- 

 son, and then how are the people going to make a 

 living till another crop can be made ? In my coun- 

 try the farmers always have more than one crop, 

 so if one or the other should fail they will not suffer 

 an entire loss." 



While Mr. Corn was talking, King Cotton looked 



