Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 61, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 March 1919 — SUCCESSFUL WAR ON WEEVIL [ARTICLE]

SUCCESSFUL WAR ON WEEVIL

Australian Grain Growers Used Poison Gas to Combat Deadly Enemy of Their Crops. The weevil is a well-known-curse to the grain-growing farmer. He is a member of a very large group, rejoicing in the family name of curcuhonidae. There are some other members which live to spoil nuts, some which ravage apple orchards, while other! make war upon clover and legumei generally. One variety is threateninj the very existence of the cotton plantations of the southern states, an: other lives to make difficult —at times Impossible—Egyptian agriculture. The weevil’s eggs are laid in immature grains and the creature develops itself through the larva stage at their expense. Wherever grain IS taken, the weevil goes along and so discovers new countries for its habitation. Everywhere it is at home, and grows with the growing grain. Australia has suffered, and its unsold grain accumulated through the war .years, during w’hlch the length of the voyage made it impossible to obtain transportation to. Europe, was found to deteriorate through its ravages. But our fellow citizens on the other side of the w-orld are notoriously hard to beat, and sei to work vigorously to war against these restless grubs. A leaf was taken from the German book, and the use of poison gas was resorted to with apparently deadly effect.