Turn your paper so it’s horizontal! This way you can fit more notes.

Now, draw a line down the center, but not all of the way down the page.

Now draw another line going across the page, making an upside down “T” with the other line.

On this side, you’ll take notes on the boll weevil.

On this side, you’ll take notes on the drought.

And down here, you’ll write about the two related to each other!

Call the Exterminator and Get Me Some Water PLEASE!!!Boll Weevils and a Drought

Wus happenin’?!?! My name’s Beevil, and I’m gonna tell you a lil bit ‘bout how I wreak havoc on farmers!

So cotton has always been a really important crop to Georgia. Because of it,

Georgia’s agriculture thrived (did really well)!

But WWI really hurt the cotton industry. It

brought the severe fall of cotton prices.

My friends and I destroyed nearly half of the cotton

crop!

I am a small beetle that most likely came from

Mexico.

As an adult boll weevil, I puncture cotton buds and lay eggs inside.

Like this!

Then, the larvae hatch inside the

buds, and feed on the cotton bolls.

Like my little ones that I’ve

laid here!

Us boll weevils, we’re good at protecting our

young.

Since our larvae stay inside the

buds, insecticides cannot kill boll

weevils!

Mwahahaha!!

Wow, Beevil’s got quite the evil

laugh! How ya’ll doin’? My name’s Wriggley, and I’m

a worm.

I used to live in Georgia, but I got

outta there as soon as I could,

‘cause things were going bad my friends! Not

good at all!

See, Beevil and his friends did a fair

amount of damage, but the farmers did their fair amount of

damage as well.

During WWI, farmers were

encouraged to expand and

produce as much as possible.

Because of this increase in

production, the farmers ended up

overusing the land.

Drought was a problem in

Georgia, but not as bad as states like Texas and

Oklahoma.

In Georgia, the soil was simply

overused and so the soil stopped growing crops.

Even my friends and I couldn’t chill in the soil, it was

so dry!

Because of this overuse, and destruction by boll weevils,

farmers had to leave their farms.

Some of the farmers even left GA entirely! So

as you can see, GA’s agriculture was suffering

even before the Great Depression!

The Great Depression, as you’ll find out, was a realllllly

rough time. Glad it didn’t affect us

worms!

1. What two things affected the price and production of cotton?

2. Drought was a problem for farmers of the south, but not as much in Georgia. What was the problem that caused Georgia’s crops to be ruined?

3. How did these factors affect Georgia’s agriculture overall? How would this affect its economy?