In agriculture when you think of the "South" you think about cotton. Alabama grows cotton and at one time was know as the "Cotton State," because cotton was the single, most important crop in Alabama. Then in 1892 the boll weevil arrived from Mexico and spread across the cotton-growing regions of the United States. The boll weevil bores into the cotton boll and lays its eggs. The eggs hatch and the larvae eat the cotton fiber. It takes the larvae about 3 weeks to become adult weevils and start laying their own eggs. That means that the weevils can hatch anywhere from 2 - 10 generations during a single cotton growing season.

Because of the destruction done to the cotton crops, Alabama farmers had no other choice but to diversify. In other words, start growing other crops. Soybeans, peanuts, corn, wheat, and other crops soon took over many of the fields that used to grow cotton. In Enterprise Alabama, Bon Fleming, a local businessman, came up with the idea to honor the boll weevil for its part in changing the way Alabama farmers farmed. That might sound strange to some, but he apparently knew what he was doing and developed Enterprise's Boll Weevil Monument. The monument and surrounding pool cost $3,000, which came from individual contributions and Fleming's own pocket. The monument was dedicated in a ceremony on Dec. 11, 1919 witnessed by a crowd of 5,000 people. Even though the monument was in appreciation of the boll weevil, the black bug wasn't part of the monument until 30 years later. Originally, the lady in the monument was holding a fountain above her head. But in 1949, local artist Luther Baker thought it would be a good idea to have the "boll weevil" a part of the Monument. He created a boll weevil out of metal and it was placed it in the statue's hands and the remains there today. To see the statue click on the picture of the boll weevil.

The boll weevil is about 6 millimeters long.

Today, cotton acreage has increased somewhat and is grown across the southern part of Alabama. However, it does best on fertile, well-drained sandy to clay loam soils such as are found in the Tennessee Valley area. Cotton is versatile and has many uses. It can be used as a fiber, feed and food.

When the cotton is harvested it is sent to a "Cotton Gin." Cotton gins separate the fluffy, white fiber from the seed (one-third of it is lint, the fluffy white part, and two-thirds seed.) The fiber is used to make cotton cloth. The seeds are processed into oil, meal and hulls. The are used in soap, makeup and food products such as cooking oil and margarine. The meal and hulls are used as livestock feed. The leftover fiber can be used to make everything from gunpowder to toothbrush handles.

For statistics on how much cotton is grown by county, click on the cotton picker.