OCR Text |
Show Till: A I.I' A I. FA WKKVIL. People of this county are much concerned over the report that the alfalfa weevil, which has done so much damage for anuniber of years past in other parts of the state, has at last reached Sanpete. Many are inclined to doubt the authenticity authenti-city of the statment that the weevil wee-vil is here, but investigation soon proves it to be a fact that the pest is here in numbers and that it is already alrea-dy doing much damage. That it is a difficult pest to com bat is well known, but mere aie methods of at least partially overcoming over-coming it, and of saving one or more of each year's crops oflucern. In other counties of the state where the pest has been in existence for one or more years the cause of the farmers farm-ers has been taken up by Boards of County Commissioners and much assistance as-sistance has been rendered by them. It is presumed the Commissioners of San-pete will do the same thing when the matter is officially brought to their notice.. An exchange notes the fact that in one community in the northern portion of the state where the weevil wee-vil has appearedthis year for the first time, but is already doing much damage, a steel wire brush attached to a harrow is being employed with success in exterminating the insect. It is a new invention and this is the first year of its actual using, but al ready promising results have been attained. The matter of the weevil's appearance appear-ance here should be brought to the notice of the commissioners at once and the strongest kind of an effort made to enlist their assistance in the fight that must be made here if Sanpete's leading crop is to be saved sav-ed this year. No one who has seen the ravishes of the weevil will doubt the necessity necess-ity of vigorous action in resisting the destructive attacks. An alfalfa field left to the weevil soon will be-r-,o worthless. Bv the use of the steel brush there is held out the promise that the weevil not only can be controlled but reduced to a harmless harm-less condition, and at the same the alfalfa be made more productive by virtue of the intensive cultivation and plant stimulation. Ten years ago, the weevil was brought to Salt Lake by Italian immigrants. im-migrants. Perhaps not more than two or three insects comprised the first colony. Since then they have multiplied by a progression equal to that of flies. From a very small bginning they have grown to be a mighty destructive force, until concerted, con-certed, intelligent action is necessary if the pest is to be eradicated or even reduced to less menacing proportions. |