At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Tuesday 8 April 2014

TTHE BOLL WEEVIL MONUMENT

Boll Weevil Monument

The Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a variety of beetle and is very destructive to crops.  American farmers regard it with intense dislike.  Yet it has a monument dedicated to it in Enterprise, Alabama.  Why so? I hear you ask.

Boll weevils first crossed into the United States from Mexico towards the end of the 19th Century and wrought havoc in farming communities.  But, with a view to staying its destruction, farmers learned to diversify their crops.  Some changed to growing peanuts.  They also started employing the more efficient practice of crop rotation.  In a way, therefore, the destructive little insect improved farming and the profits it yielded.  This led to the erection of the monument in 1919.

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