A boll slicer (fig. 4) was constructed by mounting three razor blades (H) on a 

 revolving aluminum disk (I) . 



Figure 4. --Slicer used to cut cotton bolls for extraction of boll weevil eggs; 

 (H) Razor blades; (I) revolving aluminum disk; (J) motor. 



This disk was fastened to the shaft of a 5-horsepower motor (J) geared to turn 120 

 revolutions per minute. Mounted to the motor was a stationary disk, in which a 

 1^-inch hole had been cut to allow the bolls to be fed into the revolving razor blades. 

 A hopper and chute were fastened to the stationary plate to facilitate feeding the bolls 

 into the slicer. 



Groups of bolls were sliced into different thicknesses to determine the most 

 effective boll width from which to obtain the eggs. Slices 1 mm. thick furnished the 

 most eggs during the washing process; however, because of the thinness of the slices, 

 many eggs were cut. The numbers of eggs recovered increased as the thickness of 

 the slices increased up to 2 mm. , and then decreased as the slices became thicker 

 because of the difficulty in washing the eggs from these thicker slices. When boll 

 slices 2 mm. thick were used, approximately 65 percent of the eggs laid in the bolls 

 were recovered by the slicing, washing, and screening process. In tests to determine 

 the viability of the mechanically collected eggs, the average hatch was found to be 

 95 percent. 



