96 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



The new ruling, however, will go far to correct the 

 mistake which was then made, because it will encourage 

 the subdivision of the large units and will relieve the 

 farmers of a portion of the charges now assessed against 

 them. It will accordingly make for more intensive culti- 

 vation of the land which they retain, will eliminate the ex- 

 penses in part of the hired help, and will insure larger 

 returns from the lands in crops. It increases the number 

 of farm families, as each relinquishment will provide for 

 a new home on the land. 



THE V-SHAPED COTTON-STALK CUTTER.* 



The wisdom of destroying cotton plants early in the 

 fall in the clean-culture method of combating the boll 

 weevil' is generally admitted, but planters 

 often fail to do this in the belief that it is an 

 expensive operation, likely to interfere with 

 other pressing farm work. W. Newell and 

 M. S. Dougherty, of the Louisiana crop pest 

 commission, describe a cheap and effective 

 homemade implement which makes it possible 

 for one man and two horses to cut, windrow. 

 and burn 10 to 15 acres of cotton stalks per 

 day, at a cost of from 25 to 35 cents per acre 

 on uplands and from 35 to 50 cents per acre 

 on alluvial lands. This implement, known as 

 the V-shaped cotton-stalk cutter (Figs. 3 and 

 4), has been in general use for several seasons 

 in different sections of Louisiana. It may be 

 made at home from the following materials: 



2 pieces lumber, 4 by 4 inches, 9 feet long. 



2 pieces lumber, 4 by 4 inches, 5 l / 2 feet long. 



1 piece lumber, 4 by 4 inches, 7 feet long. 



1 piece lumber, 2 by 6 inches, 3 feet long. 



1 piece of iron, Yt, inch by 2 inches, 30 inches 



long. 



2 pieces of iron, } inch by 1^ inches, 24 



inches long. 



12 bolts, fSs-inch, 65/2 inches long. 

 10 bolts, fii-inch, i l / 2 inches long. 

 1 bolt, fji-inch, 4 inches long. 



1 bolt, ^6-inch, 7 inches long. 



2 bolts, ^ij-incn, 9 inches long. 



45 bolts, J4-inch, round heads, 4J4 inches long. 



45 large washers to fit the 54-inch bolts 

 (needed if the blades are to be made from 

 cross-cut saws, as indicated below). 

 2 steel blades, about -fe inch thick, 3 to 4 

 inches wide, and 6 to 7 feet long, sharp- 

 ened on one edge (or, better, two old 

 cross-cut saws from which to make the 

 blades). 

 Only sound, well-seasoned cypress should 



be accepted. As the six pieces required 



contain about 50 board feet, the cost 



Compiled from Crop Pest Com. La. Circ. .50 and U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Farmers' Buls. 344, p. 18; 457, p. 11. 



for lumber is usually about $1. The bolts required 

 cost about 80 cents, the iron for making the clevis and 

 rudders about 50 cents, and the steel blades about $1 

 each. If old saws are readily obtainable, they may be 

 used and the price of the blades saved. The total cost 

 .for materials will, therefore, range from $2.30 to $4.30, 

 depending on the variable local prices of lumber and hard- 

 ware, and whether new material must be purchased for 

 the blades. If the farmer has no forge it may be neces- 

 sary to add the charges of a blacksmith. 



The two 9-foot pieces of cypress (aa) and the 7-foot 

 piece (b) should be cut and bolted together as indicated 

 in figures 3 and 4. Before they are bolted together an 



G 



h> 



Fig. 4. The V-?haped Cotton Stalk Cutter, Side View and Perspective. 



, The V-shaped Cotton Stalk Cutter, Top View. 



opening should be chiseled in the top of the longer piece 



to receive the clevis attachment at G. 



The clevis attachment is made by 

 bending at right angles a piece of iron 

 y% by 2 by 30 inches. It is bent edge- 

 wise about 12 inches from one end. 

 Three holes should be drilled 2 inches 

 apart in the 12-inch arm to receive the 

 4, 7, and 9-inch bolts (Fig. 3d), which 

 fasten together the two 9-foot pieces of 

 cypress (aa). Six J^-inch holes I 1 /! 

 inches apart should be drilled in the 

 upper portion of the 18-inch arm of the 

 attachment clevis for use in hitching 

 to the cutter and in regulating the 

 depth at which the blades cut. 



The rudders (ff) should be made 

 of iron pieces ^g by 1J4 by 24 inches, 

 bent at right angles 8 inches from one 

 end in the same manner as the clevis. 

 The outer edge is beaten thin to cut 

 through the ground without unneces- 

 sary friction. Six holes 1 inch apart 

 should be drilled in the 16-inch arms of 

 the rudders to permit them to be raised 

 and lowered as the height of rows in 

 the field varies. 



