16 boll weevil. 



Changes in Ageicultueal Methods Due to the Weevil. 



Under boll- weevil conditions cotton can not be produced profitably 

 on the old basis of supplying the tenant with provisions and eqinp- 

 ment. The serious objection to the old credit basis is that it has 

 encouraged the tenant system and has taken away the intelligent 

 supervision of the landlord. As a result the soil has been depleted 

 and much of it washed away. 



The most successful farmers under boU-weevil conditions will 

 raise all provisions, keep out of debt, and cultivate cotton by im- 

 proved methods on a restricted area of the best lands. That the 

 one-crop system has failed in nearly every section of our country is 

 evidenced by the poverty of a large per cent of oiir agricultural 

 people after 50 years under such a system. Our farmers should be 

 made to understand that intelligent diversification and proper rota- 

 tion of crops is sound economy and the best remedy for boll-wefevil 

 conditions. Under such conditions it is absolutely necessary that the 

 cotton planter establish a system of rotation that will in a large 

 measure keep up the supply of nitrogen. Cotton should always fol- 

 low a summer legume, such as cowpeas, soy beans, or velvet beans. 

 The effect of these legumes will be to force the cotton to early fruit- 

 ing, and this is essential in fighting the boll weevil. 



The following rotation is recommended : 



First year : Cotton. 



Second year : Corn, with soy beans, cowpeas, or velvet beans. 



Third year: Grain — the grain to be cut off and the land to be 

 .planted in J)eas; the peas to be cut off for hay or turned under in the 

 fall preparatory to a second cotton crop. 



In addition to the crops mentioned in this rotation, many other 

 crops should be grown. Where the soil types and climatic conditions 

 are favorable and where suitable markets are accessible, tobacco, soy 

 beans, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, tomatoes, watermelons, canta- 

 loupes, and various other truck crops can be profitably raised. There 

 are many sections of our State where fruit growing can be profitably 

 engaged in. 



To properly utilize all of the products produced on the farm by 

 the proper system of diversification, it is necessary to raise live stock. 

 The keeping of live stock, especially dairy cattle, can be made a 

 jDrofitable occupation for the small farmer, especially those who do 

 all of their own work. Every farmer should raise his own mules. 

 The raising of beef cattle is also profitable if land is cheap and suit- 

 able pasturage can be had. The same is true of sheep. In the 

 northern section of our State, where much of the land is too steep 

 to cultivate, these side lines of farming should be found profitable. 



For the small farmer no form of live stock is more profitable than 

 hogs. Pork can be produced cheaper in the South than in the North, 

 especially where proper grazing crops are grown. 



More attention shouhl be paid by our farmers to poultry, in the 

 way of having better breeds and giving them more intelligent care. 



Eaising Cotton Undeb Boll- "Weevil Conditions. 



The problem of cotton production under boll-weevil conditions 

 resolves itself into hastening the growth of plants so as to insure a 

 large crop of bolls by the middle of July and certainly by the 1st of 



