BOLL WEEVIL CONTROL—IS IT 
FEASIBLE AND PROFITABLE? 
We began studying the boll weevil long 
before it arrived in this section. We followed 
the government recommendations for control 
as soon as the weevil reached Hartsville, and 
found most of them not only inefficient but 
damaging. We were forced to try other 
methods of control and have worked out a 
system which is fairly satisfactory and which 
usually gives excellent results. The best 
proof is that we are averaging more cotton 
per acre than we did before the weevil arrived. 
Briefly our method consists in: 
1. The use of quick fruiting, early matur¬ 
ing, high yielding, good stapled varieties. 
2. Fertilization with adequate amounts of 
phosphoric acid, potash and ammonia to 
further hasten early maturity and quick 
fruitage. 
3. Checking the fields, and especially the 
fields near good hibernation quarters, just 
before first small squares appear, and where- 
ever over-wintered weevils are present ap¬ 
plication to the young plants of a mixture of 
one pound of calcium arsenate, one gallon of 
water, one gallon molasses with small cloth 
mop, repeating twice at five- to seven-day in¬ 
tervals. We do this in dry warm weather 
and within thirty-six hours all old weevils 
present on cotton are killed, thus delaying and 
greatly reducing the early infestation. We 
clean up and burn ditch banks and field 
margins. 
4. Later on we check over fields to find any 
focus of later infestation and pick punctured 
squares from these areas which are usually 
quite small. 
This method usually results in carrying our 
cotton well into August without serious dam¬ 
age and a satisfactory crop. 
The materials for three weevil poisonings 
usually cost about 50^ per acre. We believe 
that this method returns far more than its 
cost every year, and in bad weevil years is 
responsible for an extra one-fifth to one-third 
bale per acre. We recommend the use of 
this method every year in all areas covered 
by weevils because it is cheap, simple, will 
not poison the soil, and does not destroy 
plant lice enemies. Furthermore, it furnishes 
valuable and, to us, indispensable crop in¬ 
surance against severe weevil damage. 
The southern cotton industry is threatened 
because cotton substitutes, rayon, etc., are 
rapidly increasing and becoming cheaper; 
cotton production in foreign countries is in¬ 
creasing and world trade balances and demand 
do not afford adequate export markets. Lower 
tariffs on materials essential for cotton pro¬ 
duction would help. Greater yields and better 
quality on the acreage planted would greatly 
help the cost of production. A continued re¬ 
striction in acreage so that the crop may be 
kept down to consumptive demands and the 
price kept above cost of production is 
necessary. 
Left Top—Here is All the Ma¬ 
terials You’ll Need. No Expen¬ 
sive Machinery Required. 
Left Bottom—Keep the Mixture 
Thoroughly Stirred—Otherwise the 
Arsenate Will Settle to the Bottom. 
Center Bottom—Properly Super¬ 
vised These Small Boys do a Good 
poisoning Job. 
Center Right—O n e of These 
Hands Can Poison Four to Five 
Acres of Cotton Per Day. 
