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A H I S T O R Y
O F C O T T O N C U L T U R E A L O
N G T H E M I D D L E B R A Z O S
R I V E R |
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By Manford Eugene Jones
1939 University Of New Mexico
Master's Thesis
Texas A&M University History Professor Dale Baum purchased a
copy of this thesis from the university's library and contributed it to this
site. It is used
with permission of Manford Allen Jones,
son of the author Manford Eugene Jones.
These
electronic pages may not be reproduced
in any format by other organizations or
individuals. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material
must obtain the written consent of Manford Allen Jones or contact William Kent Brunette,
Robertson County TXGenWeb coordinator.
CHAPTER 7:
WEED & INSECT ENEMIES & THEIR CONTROL
Anyone who is
familiar with farm problems knows that weeds constitute one of the
greatest troubles of all the array of troubles that beset farmers.[32]
According to Tomlinson, the worst weed pest
on the Brazos is nut grass. This grass made its appearance along the
middle Brazos immediately after the June flood of 1899. Exactly
where it came from no one knows, but Tomlinson's theory is that it was
washed down from the City of Waco where some citizens had used it as a
lawn covering.
It is almost impossible to kill nut grass
because of the fact that the seed is so well protected by the nut or
shell. The salamander or gopher that lives in sandy soil along the
edge of the Bottom stores the seed of the nut grass and thus helps to
spread it. This grass absorbs moisture from the cotton plant.
About the only good point for nut grass is that hogs will sometimes fatten
on the seed.
Next in importance as the plant pest is
Johnson grass. This grass was brought to Marlin by Judge Kimes in
1884. It was planted in the Bottom for several years before farmers
realized it was a menace unless properly controlled. Johnson grass
makes excellent grazing for cattle and good feed when out and dried.
Therefore, it does serve some useful purposes, but if it gets started on
cotton land Herculean efforts are needed to dislodge it. This grass
spreads by its root system as well as by the seed. Within the last
twenty-five years, thousands of acres of the best bottom land along the
Brazos have been abandoned to Johnson grass. Most of this land was
worked by tenants who made no particular effort to check its growth, and
the landowner in most cases had no extra money to hire laborers to keep it
down.
Johnson grass can be controlled by repeated
plowing, done now by tractors, by repeated hoeing in hot weather, and by
digging up the plant and exposing the roots. Plowing the land while
it is wet is also supposed to rot the roots of this plant.
Other weeds and grasses that give more or
less trouble in wet years are the cocklebur, Colorado grass, "careless
weed," and Bermuda grass.
The only disease to affect the bottom
cotton to any large extent has been Texas root rot, which is discussed in
the following quotation.
"The disease had not been found east of
Texas. In Texas alone, the loss in 1906 was estimated at three
million dollars."
"The general characteristics of the disease
are as follows: the first indication is the sudden wilting of a
single plant, or a number of them; this is apt to occur in May or June.
During the last of June or the the first of July, a large number of wilted
plants may be seen, later forming irregular dead patches. The plants
wilt most frequently on hot days following rain. Continuous dry
weather tends to hold the disease in check."
"If the roots of dead cotton stalks or of
those wilting are examined, brown threads of fungus will be found closely
surrounding the tap root and some of the lateral roots. Small
wart-like bodies, or sclerotia, are found in numerous places on the tap
root and lateral roots. The roots shrink and decay. The fungus
Mycelium in younger stages is white, and may be found on roots of plants
that appear healthy."
"Since this is a soil-borne disease, great
precaution must be used to prevent the transference of inoculated soil to
disease-free areas. Soil is often transferred to carry legume
inoculation, and this practice may serve to spread the disease."
"Deep fall plowing and the use of immune
crops, such as grains, two years in succession in a three-year rotation is
the only control measure advised."[33]
Cotton farmers in
the Bottom are often bothered by the cotton plant shedding its bolls and
squares because of weather conditions. If there is a rainy season,
the plant grows rapidly and puts on much "fruit." If the weather
then turns hot and dry, the plant cannot mature the "fruit" it has
started, and thus the shedding process takes much from the yield.
The next quotation
describes the Bottom farmers' worst insect enemy.
"Enemy #1
among cotton insects if the notorious boll weevil. Making its first
appearance on the pages of American cotton history in 1862 near Monclova,
Mexico, it forded the Rio Grande River in the vicinity of Brownsville,
Texas, in 1892. Thirty years later, it had swept the Cotton Belt
except West Texas and brought about a revolution in the cotton industry of
the South."
"New varieties,
changed cultural methods, and poison application, have been used to combat
the weevil. It was in 1918 that Coad showed beyond doubt that the
weevil could be effectively controlled in the field by dusting with
calcium arsenate and within five years from that date effective dusting
machinery had been developed."[34]
The boll weevil
made its appearance on the Central Brazos in 1899. In the first few
years following 1900, the weevil damage was so great that many cotton
farms in the Bottom were abandoned, since there seemed no way of combating
the insect. On farm of twenty-five hundred acres near Calvert,
Texas, was abandoned for five years during this period. Of course,
the methods mentioned in the preceding paragraph soon brought relief, but
there was almost a total loss of the crop in 1919, and there is some
infestation each year. Brown has the following information on the
boll weevil.
"The adult boll
weevil is a small grayish or brownish weevil, and 1/4 inch in length
varying from 1/8 to 1/3 inch with a breadth 1/3 of the length. The
size varies considerably, being determined by the amount of food supplied
the developing larvae. Weevils that develop in bolls where food is
abundant, are considerably larger than ones that grow in squares.
The color is largely dependent on the age of the weevil; newly hatched
ones are yellowish brown, while old ones become grayish and dark.
Anyone who has seen boll weevils will have but little trouble in
identifying them. In a cotton field, the presence of weevils is
indicated by the flaring of the bracts of cotton squares and by an
excessive amount of square shedding. If the squares, when cut open,
are found to contain a white, curved grub that had eaten out the inside of
the flower bud, there is not much doubt that boll weevils are present."
"The boll weevil
passes through the winter, or hibernates, in the adult or winged stage.
Egg laying does not begin until cotton squares have formed. Eggs are
deposited in small pits or openings which the female makes with her snout.
They are usually placed near the base of the flower bud and inside the
corolla."
"The egg, under
normal conditions, hatches in about three days, and the larvae, or young
grub, begins to feed on the plant substance about it. It reaches
maturity in about 7 to 12 days. Its development is dependent on
weather conditions; cool weather retards growth, while hot, dry weather
may kill it. The mature larvae is white with brownish markings,
curved, and about 1/2 inch in length. The mature larvae changes into
a pupa, a form corresponding to the chrysalis of the butterfly or the
cocoon of the moth. The pupa is inactive, eats nothing, and remains
within the square or boll. After 3 to 5 days, an adult weevil
hatches from the pupa. The young adult begins to produce a new
generation in from 5 to 7 days after emergence. The condition of the
weather has an important bearing on the length of time required for a boll
weevil to pass through its life cycle. The time required varies from
2 to 4 weeks or longer, being longer during cool weather or towards the
end of the season. Warm weather favors rapid development, but hot,
dry weather increases mortality greatly."
"The length of time
that the mature weevils live varies with the season of the year. In
the summer, most weevils do not live longer than 50 days. During the
cooler part of the year, many live as long as 6 months, and one is known
to have lived from December to the following October - 11 months."
"The favorite food
of the boll weevil is pollen in the unopened flower bud of the cotton
plant. This it obtains by making a number of punctures through the
corolla of the unopened flower. The upper part of the bud may show a
dozen or more punctures with loose pollen scattered around them.
Weevils that appear in fields before squares have formed attack the young
leaf buds to some extent, and, in the latter part of the season, after
un-punctured squares have become scarce, they attack young bolls.
Even bolls of full size, but with tender walls, may be punctured."
"Both the adult
weevil and the larvae damage cotton plants. The adults feeds on
young leaf buds, and punctures both squares and young bolls for feeding
and egg-laying. The larvae feed on the inside of squares and bolls.
The squares are shed or fail to develop flowers. Young bolls are
commonly shed, while older ones have on or more locks ruined. Some
locks that open have the lint so stained or damaged that the grade of the
whole lot of lint cotton is lowered."
"The damage done by
boll weevils varies greatly due to weather conditions and other
unexplainable reasons."
"The boll weevil,
after landing in a cotton field, shows but little disposition to leave if
squares are plentiful. It flies for short distances, but is not apt
to fly to another field until the seasonal migration period in August,
unless foot becomes scarce. When the migration period comes on, it
instinctively takes to wing and by a series of short flights may travel a
hundred miles or more. The movement is generally in the direction of
the prevailing wind, but it may be in any direction. In the fall,
beginning about the time of the first frost, there is also a movement to
hibernating quarters. In the spring, there is a movement from the
hibernating quarters back to the cotton fields."
"By 'hibernation'
is meant the act of passing through the winter period in a dormant, or
quiescent, state. With the coming of cool weather in the fall of the
year, boll weevils begin to seek shelter. Many enter cracks in the
ground or hide under grass, weeds, or other trash in cotton fields.
Others fly to fence rows, grassy ditch banks, or the woods, for shelter.
The bunches of Spanish moss hanging from limbs of trees so abundantly in
section of the cotton states afford splendid winter quarters. Most
weevils that attempt to pass the winter in the cotton fields fail to
survive. Apparently, woods, Negro cabins, or hay stacks afford the
safest places, for infestation in cotton fields early in the season is
usually heaviest near such places."[35]
Farmers of the
central Brazos have spent many thousands of dollars in the fight against
the boll weevil, and the methods used are discussed in the following
paragraphs.
"The farmer is
aided in his fight against the weevil by a number of important natural
factors which tend to reduce the possible weevil damage: (1) the weevil is
practically dependent on cotton for reproduction; (2) the mortality of the
weevil during the winter is very high; (3) hot, dry weather during the
summer exercises a tremendous control upon the weevil stages, while moist,
cloudy weather, removes the control and greatly accelerates
multiplication; (4) the weevil is attacked by many different species of
insect enemies; (5) the emergence from hibernation quarters during the
spring is slow and prolonged until well into the summer; (6) early in the
season, on account of comparatively lower temperature, the development of
the weevil is much slower than during the mid-summer months; (7) the
cotton plant produces many more squares than it can carry to maturity as
bolls. This surplus is shed by the plant throughout the season.
Under normal conditions, about 60 percent of the fruit being shed; (8) up
to a certain point, weevil puncturing of fruit does not reduce the cotton
crop, because large numbers of forms would be shed normally; and (9) the
weevil has a decided tendency to seek moisture wherever it may be found on
the surface of the plant."[36]
Calcium arsenate is
the poison employed for weevils. It is dusted on in a dry form when
the dew is on the cotton so that the poison will stick to the plant.
Most planters use a cart machine, a two-wheel machine which straddles a
row of cotton. It has three nozzles and will cover twenty-five to
thirty acres of cotton a night. About five to seven pounds of poison
are used an acre for each application. It takes three or four
applications at frequent intervals to kill most of the weevils.
Brown names other
methods of control.
"Some other methods
of weevil control are: (1) fall destruction of infested plants; (2) grazing;
(3) destruction of weevils in hibernations; (4) locating fields to avoid
weevil damage; (5) producing an early crop of cotton; (6) early removal
of plants and preparation of land; (7) use of the early varieties of
cotton; and (8) early planting."[37]
Next to the boll weevil in importance as a
cotton destroyer is the cotton worm or cotton caterpillar. These
worms were numerous on the Brazos many years before the weevil came, but
only in recent years have they caused extensive damage. The
following statement gives information on the caterpillar.
"The egg of the caterpillar is bluish green
in color and of a different shade from that of the leaf, so that it can be
rather readily distinguished. It is found usually on the underside
of the leaves and as a general thing toward the top of the plant. In
the neighborhood of 500 eggs are laid by each female, sometimes several
upon each leaf, but never in clusters."
"After hatching from the egg, the young
larvae feeds at first upon the underside of the leaf, devouring simply the
lower parenchyma and not piercing through to the upper side under after
the first molt. Although the normal food of the caterpillar is the
leaves, it will frequently gnaw the tender twigs and will even damage the
bolls by eating into them in spots. In spite of its comparatively
small size and slender form, the larvae is, in fact, very voracious, and
when occurring in number, the ruin which it accomplishes is complete."
"To go into the pupa state, the caterpillar
spins a light silken web, usually within a folded leaf. Its color is
at first green, but in the course of an hour or so, it changes to brown.
The insect remains in this condition for a period varying from one week to
thirty days."
"The perfect insect of the cotton
caterpillar is a rather small moth of an olive-gray color, sometimes with
a somewhat purplish luster."[38]
The first defense
used against the caterpillar was the placing of lights in pans of water on
top of posts to attract the moths. This did not catch enough of the
moths and was discontinued. At the present time, Paris Oreen is used
in a spray form and is put on the plant by a machine similar to the one
used in dusting for boll weevils. The spray can be used during the
day. Before these machines were devised, poison was dusted from
sacks on the end of a pole carried across a mule's back.
The cotton boll
worm helped the weevil to destroy the Bottom cotton crop in 1919, but its
damage has been less than that of the first two enemies named. The
boll worm works as follows:
"The cotton boll
worm destroys cotton squares and bolls by eating their interior. In
some localities, especially in Texas, the damage done is considerable."
"Eggs are laid on
leaves. After hatching, the young larvae feeds on the surface of the
leaves for a short time and then enters a square or boll. After
destroying the contents, it seeks another, so continuing until several
have been ruined. When full grown, it enters the ground to pupate.
A moth hatches from the pupa in about two weeks. This insect passes
the winter as a pupa in the soil. It is poisoned in the same manner
as was given for the cotton leaf worm."[39]
The latest insect
to damage cotton in this region has been the cotton hopper or cotton flew.
It is a small green bug whose life history and habits have not been worked
out completely. This insect causes the plant to be poorly developed
and to shed most of its squares and bolls. It also attacks very
young cotton and stops its growth.
The only effective
remedy found for the flea is finely ground sulphur that is blown on the
cotton with a dusting machine. Most farmers use fifteen pounds an
acre and go over the cotton three or four times.
The most recent
method used in dusting poison on cotton plants for controlling various
insects is by airplane. This costs about one dollar an acre, which
is higher than the cost of other methods, but it has certain advantages.
The work is done quickly, and rainy weather causing muddy fields does not
stop the poisoning. The place flies just above the stalks and blows
the poison on with such force that it actually penetrates the leaves and
thus stays on better. This method has been used by some of the
largest plantations near Calvert and Hearne, but it is largely in the
experimental stage because of its high cost. There is some
probability that in the future, it might be used on a community or
cooperative basis.
A great many Bottom
farmers begin dusting their cotton early in the season, even though no
insects are in evidence, as insurance against possible damage later.
If they wait to begin until damage is evident, then more poison is
necessary, besides the loss already incurred from the insects. When
the caterpillar is allowed to run unchecked, all the plant is devoured
except the mature bolls and the stalk, and the fields present a very
ragged and bedraggled appearance. If the caterpillars do not begin
hatching until the middle of August, then some cotton will mbe made, even
though no poison is used, as most of the bolls are matured at that time.
However, they usually hatch out much earlier, especially if the season is
a wet one and the cotton makes a large stalk. A caterpillar infested
field has a typically musty odor. When the weevil and boll worm are
present alone, the cotton plant looks normal from a distance, but close
examination shows a lack of bolls.
The success with
which cotton insects are now controlled is a tribute not only to the
courage and resourcefulness of the farm, but also to the patience and
untiring efforts of entomologists in the United States Department of
Agriculture and in the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College at
College Station, Texas.
[32] Much information concerning weed pests in
the Brazos bottom was secured from A. P. Tomlinson, who lives at Tomlinson
Hill on the west side of the river near Marlin, Texas. Mr.
Tomlinson's grandfather, James K. Tomlinson, came to this hill from
Evergreen, Alabama, in 1858. His father, James E. Tomlinson, also
lived at Tomlinson Hill; so his information on conditions along the river
since early times may be accepted as fairly accurate.
[33] H. B. Brown, Cotton, pp. 285 -
286.
[34] Eugene Butler "Fifty Years Of Cotton
Growing," Progressive Farmer (February, 1936), pp. 8. 57.
[35] H. B. Brown, Cotton, pp. 294 -
298.
[36] Ibid., p. 300.
[37] Ibid., pp. 302 - 305.
[38] L. O. Leonard, The Cotton Plant
(Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896), pp. 320-322.
[39] H. B. Brown, Cotton, pp. 315-317.
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