BOLL WEEVIL CONTROL BY USE OF POISON. 23 



much the same design will be placed on the market at a fairly early 

 date at a lower figure. From present prospects the minimum sales 

 price for such a machine will be in the neighborhood of $200. 



The high cost of this machinery is particularly unfortunate, as it 

 will tempt the farmer to expand his acreage allotment for each ma- 

 chine as much as possible by increasing the time interval between ap- 

 plications. This is bound to be a hazardous practice. In fact, if a 

 grower is confronted with the problem, it would be far better for him 

 to select a limited acreage of his best yielding land where the weevil 

 damage is highest and treat this thoroughly and properly, ignoring 

 the rest of his crop, than risk the success of the entire operation by 

 attempting to make a machine cover too much acreage. 



NEED OF AN INTERMEDIATE TYPE OF DUSTING MACHINE. 



As the situation now stands, there is no dusting machine on the 

 market intermediate between the hand duster and the wheel-traction 

 or cart type of duster. Inasmuch as hand dusters are generally un- 

 satisfactory on fields larger than about 25 acres, and as the cost of a 

 cart duster is such that a man is seldom justified in buying one for 

 use on less than 75 acres, no equipment suitable for a man cultivating 

 between 25 and 75 acres of cotton is available and his problem is a 

 difficult one. When a sufficient supply of labor is available, however, 

 it may be possible for him to utilize hand guns; and where the soil 

 fertility is particularly high, the purchase of a cart machine for 

 use on the small acreage may be justified. Several types of devices, 

 such as saddle guns or single-wheel machines for operation between 

 the cotton rows, are being studied, but the process of perfecting and 

 producing them will require considerable time. 



LIGHTING EQUIPMENT FOR DUSTING MACHINES. 



The question of lighting any cotton-dusting machine requires par- 

 ticular attention. As has been explained, an application of poison 

 gives the best results when it is made at night ; therefore a thorough 

 lighting equipment must be provided. This has been a serious diffi- 

 culty in the past and all kinds of lights have been tested. So far 

 only one type has been developed which gives any assurance of being 

 thoroughly satisfactory. This is a special model of acetylene light 

 which utilizes a compressed carbide cake for fuel. These lights have 

 been constructed for cotton-dusting machine work and apparently 

 the majority of the machines to be placed on the market will be 

 equipped with them. At any rate, anyone purchasing a dusting 

 machine should be sure that it is provided with a simple and satis- 

 factory equipment that will give ample light for avoiding stumps, 



