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?