Lespedeza a great hay crop for the lower South
The Boll Weevil’s Influence in the Regeneration of the South
By H. Guy Hathorn, Planter, Woodville, Miss.
For many years the one crop system has been the bane of the cotton belt. When land was virgin, cheap and plentiful, the evil was not so apparent, and the necessity for a saner system was not so pressing. A depleted soil, unreliable labor and various other factors caused certain individuals to see the error of their way, and induced them to adopt a diversified system and the use of labor-saving implements. It was necessary for the great majority to receive a paralyzing shock before they would make any material change; that shock came in the shape of the boll weevil. As certain alternative medicines create great debility and languor of the body before the curative power can become operative, so has all business in any way connected with the growing of cotton suffered depression as a preliminary to the greater financial vigor and strength that comes after a few years’ experience with stock raising and diversification as the rule, and with cotton occupying a secondary place in the farm operation.
Letter from the Late Dr. S. A. Knapp to G. H. Alford
Of course the heavy rains have been favorable to the weevil, and nothing else could have been expected in weevil territory than the weevil should appear and be rather plentiful on the young cotton. But our experience in this boll weevil fight is that it is far better to have a wet period at this time than later, when the plant is much larger and the squares more numerous. The farmer is inclined to look at the dark side of things. This early rain is rather a favorable symptom than otherwise because, in all probability, it will clear off and be warm and dry. In 1907 we had just such a period of rain a trifle later than this. It cleared off and in a few weeks nine-tenths of the weevil, so far as reported, had disappeared. The man who energetically clears out his cotton as soon as the weather permits and strictly follows our plan of intensive cultivation, will be quite sure to make a fair crop.
We are not afraid of these early rains; it is the late rain, because if the planter now follows our plan and picks up the squares for a month, the weevils will be pretty nearly exterminated. In fact, if everybody would do it the weevil would do very little damage. But when there is a period of continuous rain after the plant has nearly matured, it is a much more difficult problem to handle. The sun has less access to the plant and it is more difficult to secure all the fallen squares.
The greatest problem with which we have had to deal in boll weevil territory is the hopeless view of the farmer. He wants to plow up his cotton and put in something else, or he refuses to give his cotton the attention which it requires. If he follows our plan thoroughly he will succeed, and in future will make his crop hopefully as he did before the boll weevil appeared.