CONTROL OF BOLL WEEVIL IN MISSISSIPPI DELTA. 49 



days of this group available. Consequently, if we subtract the labor 

 required for the picking operation from that available during June 

 there are only 455 labor days remaining. However, it was found in 

 the malaria investigations that 199 labor days were lost directly 

 because of malaria during June, and subtracting this number from 

 the 455, the reare only 256 labor days left for conducting all ordinary 

 plantation operations during the month of June, and it has been 

 shown that these ordinary operations require a total of 1,814 labor 

 days. 



Going back to Table 39, it is of interest to calculate just what pro- 

 portion of the theoretical labor would be required. If the three 

 groups of female labor and the males from 8 to 12 are totaled, it is 

 found that 1,093.92 days result. In other words, even on the basis 

 of the theoretical labor, which is far from the actual labor available, 

 it would require all of the females and all of the males up to 13 years 

 of age to conduct the picking operations. 



These observations on labor requirements and available labor seem 

 to show definitely the impracticability of the systematic use of the 

 bag-and-hoop on the plantation. Since comparative efficiency 

 observations have shown that the bag-and-hoop requires only one- 

 fourth as long as the hand picking of weevils and collects twice as 

 many to the acre, the outlook for hand picking is very discouraging 

 to say the least. As the labor available is not sufficient to conduct 

 the bag-and-hoop collections, it certainly is not sufficient for the 

 hand pickings, which would require four times as much labor. In 

 addition, if the proportion of weevils collected with the bag-and-hoop 

 is not high enough to benefit materially an average or heavy infesta- 

 tion, there seems to be little chance of securing a benefit from hand 

 picking one-half this number of weevils. Still another method of 

 control is the hand collection of fallen squares. Observations on the 

 labor requirements of this have shown that the best which can be 

 expected is one acre per day per hand. Thus this operation would 

 require one-third more labor than the operation of the bag-and-hoop 

 and is eliminated in the same manner. 



The type of labor available for this weevil picking and the type 

 required are also of interest. In view of the general labor shortage 

 prevailing in the Delta, it is necessary for the women to assume the 

 responsibility of all operations possible. This naturally results in 

 their use as hoe hands in restraining the grass growth in both cotton 

 and corn, particularly cotton. In case of a rain delaying operations 

 and causing an excess of grass growth, it falls to their lot to save the 

 cotton crop by hoeing, while the men are attempting to catch up 

 with the strictly masculine operations. This condition is met at some 

 time practically every season in the Delta and shows the importance 



