5/ 

 by using a Waring Blendor- and a Buchner funnel. However, several hundred pounds 



of square powder were needed for the mass-rearing program at State College, Miss. 



For this purpose, a more economical means of producing the powder was devised. 



Apparatus for Preparing Square Powder 



Three-quarters of a ton of cotton squares was collected and immediately frozen, 

 since the process of freezing and subsequent thawing disrupts many of the cells and 

 thus aids in the extraction. Cotton squares to be processed were removed from the 

 freezer and covered with acetone. Much of the free water in and on the squares mixed 

 with the acetone and was then drained from the squares along with the acetone. The 

 partially dehydrated squares, covered with twice their volume of fresh acetone, were 

 then ground for 5 minutes in gallon-sized blenders. After the grinding was completed, 

 the slurry was poured into a large muslin sack and most of the acetone allowed to drain 

 off into a vat. If the initial dehydration step described above was omitted, the water 

 present in the slurry caused swelling of the muslin fibers of the sack so that rapid 

 draining was not possible. 



After the contents of the muslin sack had drained, the residue was transferred to 

 a large screw press (fig. 1), where the remainder of the acetone was squeezed from the 

 plant material. The process of grinding, draining, and squeezing was repeated and the 

 resultant powder was allowed to air-dry to remove the last traces of acetone. When the 

 acetone was removed from small quantities of square powder by means of a Buchner 

 funnel and vacuum, three extractions were usually required; but when the screw press 

 was used, only two extractions were necessary to produce an equivalent product. 



Apparatus for Preparing Germinated-Cottonseed Puree 



Vanderzant and Davich-''^ developed a medium that could be used to replace the 

 bolls or squares as adult weevil food and as oviposit! on sites for the females. One of 

 the necessary ingredients was a puree made from dehulled, germinated cottonseeds. 

 Different methods of separating the hulls from the meats were tried, but the only 

 satisfactory method required that the seeds be squeezed one at a time by hand. Because 

 large quantities of germinated seeds were necessary for mass rearing, a mechanical 

 means of dehulling the seeds was developed. 



Two stainless-steel rollers, each measuring 6 inches in diameter and 6 inches 

 in length, were mounted in a stainless-steel frame so that a 1-mm. gap remained 

 between the rollers. The roller shafts were connected by gears so that they rotated in 

 opposite directions when turned by a handle (fig. 2). 



5^/ Mention of proprietary products in this report does not constitute their 

 endorsement by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



6/ Vanderzant, Erma S. , and Davich, T.B. Artificial diets for the adult boll 

 weevil and techniques for obtaining eggs . Jour. Econ. Ent. 54: 923-928. 1961. 



