DUSTING COTTON FROM AIRPLANES. V 
FIELD DUSTING STUDIES. 
Following the completion of the two very crude hoppers described, 
no further efforts were made to perfect the mechanical delivery of 
the material, and the tests were devoted to a study of whether cotton 
plants can be effectively covered with poison by means of airplanes. 
At the outset two problems were paramount : First. Can the planes 
be operated over a cotton field in such a manner that the field will 
be thoroughly subjected to the cloud of dust ? Second. Can the 
dust be forced down from the plane into the cotton plants and be 
made to adhere to them in a quantity sufficient to control insects? 
LOCATION AND PLAN. 
Two farms situated from 1J to 5 miles from Tallulah were selected 
for the study. Mosaic maps of these made from an elevation of 10.000 
Fig. 7. — Dusting plane as used in 1922 ready to take off. The experimental hoppers used 
required operation by an extra man who' stood upright as shown. Future equipment 
will utilize this additional space for poison and the dust delivery will be controlled by 
the pilot. 
feet are shown in Figures 9 and 10. A large lespedeza meadow 
from which the hay had just been cut proved to be an ideal landing 
field. A tent was provided for the storage of poison and other 
equipment. Acetylene lights were used for illuminating the field 
before daybreak when early morning poisoning was planned, although 
no actual flying was done at night. A tower was erected for the 
support of wind instruments, to provide definite information on the 
conditions of air movement under which the experiments were con- 
ducted. This tower was so arranged that the anemometer and wind 
vane were mounted about 15 feet from the ground. Records were 
taken at five-minute intervals on both wind velocity and wind direc- 
tion throughout the day for the period of the experiment. 
The landing field was near the center of what is called Shirley 
plantation. This property was selected because it is a fairly typical 
cotton farm, and also affords a wide range of environmental condi- 
61979°— 23 2 
