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rated, much more so than at any other stage of handling. An aver- 

 age cotton seed weighs about 2 grains, while an average boll weevil 

 weighs only about one-eighth as much, or one-fourth of a grain. 

 Between such extremes it seems feasible to adjust a suction pipe in 

 such a manner as to remove the weevils. Possibly an air blast instead 

 of suction might be used in forcing the weevils toward the motes, 

 with which they might be collected and destroyed. The suction sys- 

 tem, however, would have the advantage of furnishing its own device 

 for destroying the weevils, namely, the fan itself, though in that case 

 there would still be the necessity for a separate device for the proper 

 manipulation of the motes. It is believed that the suction or blast 

 could be obtained at the ordinary gin without an independent fan. 

 There will, of course, be difficulties to overcome in constructing a 

 device along the lines suggested, among them that of obtaining an 

 even degree of suction or blast the full width of the seed chute, or for 

 a possibly lessened width, into which the seeds might be brought. 

 Nevertheless, the matter is undoubtedly well worthy of experimental 

 trial. 



The same results as those aimed at by the above-described system 

 might be obtained by the use of sand reels, such as are used in oil 

 mills, in connection with the separate gins, or one large reel for the 

 reception of the combined discharge from the battery. Sand reels, 

 however, are rather expensive machines, and require some additional 

 horsepower. Their installation at gins is, therefore, considered much 

 less practicable than the installation of some such device as has been 

 suggested. 



CONTROLLING THE BOLL WEEVIL AT OIL MILLS. 



Under the present arrangements large numbers of weevils concen- 

 trated at the gins in the seed cotton reach the seed house, whence they 

 are conveyed in cars or wagons to the oil mills. There are several 

 avenues of escape at these mills. It has been demonstrated that cot- 

 ton fields in the vicinity of oil mills which have received seed from 

 infested territories become infested by the weevil sooner than others. 

 The weevils liberated from the seed at the mills frequently get into 

 by-products, particularly hulls, and have been known to be trans- 

 ported to barns when the hulls were carried from the mills for feed- 

 ing purposes. With the present generally rather ineffective methods 

 for controlling the weevils before the seed reaches the oil mill, control 

 at the mill is scarcely less important than at the gin itself. 



When the seed arrives at the mill, it is generally unloaded from the 

 farmers' or ginners' wagons or cars directly into the storage house by 

 hand, although in some cases screw conveyors are used for this pur- 

 pose. However, after the seed reaches the storage house the methods 



