104 HUMAN FACTORS IN COTTON CULTURE 



13,800 acres of cotton at a cost of $4.04 an acre in 1922, 

 Later they figured the cost at $2.50 to $3.00 per acre, 

 counting that as part of the regular crop expense. 52 

 Five to seven pounds of arsenate are required per acre, 

 although weather conditions may increase the number 

 of applications necessary. It was advised that poisoning 

 operations be started when about 10 to 15 per cent of 

 the squares are punctured. 



Carrying his experiment further, Coad hired five army 

 airplanes to dust 3,000 acres. It was found that the back 

 rush of air broke the dust into clouds of fine particles, 

 scattering it effectively. The tremendous friction elec- 

 trifies the dust particles. The plants serve to ground the 

 electric charges. Thus the particles are attracted to the 

 plants and cling closely. In this way the fields can be 

 dusted during the day. It is not necessary to wait for 

 the dew. The field was dusted more cheaply than it could 

 have been by the forty machines, forty men and eighty 

 mules required for 3,000 acres of cotton. Congress, it is 

 suggested, should make appropriation for further ex- 

 periments. In the meantime several commercial companies 

 have been formed for dusting cotton fields by airplane. 

 It may prove cheapest to poison the weevil by airplane 

 if all the farmers organize on a community basis to 

 secure the services of the commercial company. 



At the opposite end of the scale is the plan suggested 

 for the one-horse farmer by David R. Coker of Harts- 

 ville, South Carolina. According to him, a mixture of 

 calcium arsenate with cheap molasses can be applied by 

 use of a mop or bottle with a shaker top. A gallon per 

 acre is thought sufficient, and an ordinary hand can do 



52 Hubbard, op. cit., p. 46. 



