Demonstration work in cooperation with southern farmers

It has been proved by our cooperative demonstration work, that by following the instructions of the bureau of plant Industry a good crop of cotton can be raised in the worst-infested boll-weevil districts and despite the ravages of this pest. It is possible that the future may discover some better method of meeting the boll-weevil problems, but experience has shown that the method outlined is the only safe one at present. The boll weevil has now covered a large portion of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and several counties in Mississippi. It is annually invading new territory with a column 600 miles long and in numbers sufficient to cover every stalk of cotton to a width of 30 miles. A cotton crop can be produced despite the boll weevil, and the sooner American farmers face the situation, the better it will be for all concerned. To demonstrate the truth of this theory is one object of the Farmers' Cooperative Demonstration Work. In the foregoing pages have been mentioned only some of the lines of demonstration which have been undertaken for rural uplifting. The results have far exceeded our expectations, and the farmers have accepted the work gratefully and have cooperated to the best of their ability in every undertaking. It is along such lines as these that great economies can be practiced and valuable reforms wrought for the betterment of rural conditions and for solving the problems of the farm.