The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-05-16
Goodbye to the Hoe.

SUMTER, May lit seems that Sumte,
is destined to produce machines of fincal
culable advantage to. persons engaged il
raising cotton. Not only have Mason'l
cotton harvester and Mason's cotton gir
been contributed by Sumter to the grea1
cotton industry, but now ne have Rear
don 3 improved Ammon cotton chopper
and cultivator.
Ill who are familiar with cotton plant
ing know that after the cotton comes
up, and has attained q certain height, il
is necessary chat the plants should be
thinned out. This is usually done with
the hoe, and is slow and expensive
process. Sometimes plough is used
and again some planters resort to the
rough and uncertain use of a harrow
Mr.. Reardon's cotton chopper does the
work better than any of the above meth.
ods and q grea. deal cheaper. He claims
that one Of his machines, with one man
and horse, will effectively chop twelve
acres day. This, he says, will cost only
six cents per acre, while the same work,
not so we'll done with the hoe, will coal
forty-fve to fifty cents per acre.
Mr.. Reardon has made calculation
of what his chopper will save if used
throughout the entire cotton belt of this
country, and it amounts about seven
millions of ofdollars.
Mr.. Reardon's cotton chopper looks
something like aulky plough. It is
made of two kinds, one With three small
pleughs, or hoes, for rich land, and the
other with FIVE for ordinary cotton land
This machine is drawn by q horse, a man
walking behind it and guiding the horse
It has an adjustable bar to which the
hoes or ploughs are attached. This ma
chine is driven across the rows of young
cotton. It chops out the cotton, leaving
it in blocks, cultivating it at the same
time and leaving it in good condition 70,
siding afterwards. 1t is claimed that
cotton thus treated will save the planter
two hoeings and one ploughing. The
back part Of the chopper in hinged, sc
that it can be lifted up at the row heads,
or at any other time to free the ploughs
from grass or to avoid injurying any
other plants in the field. By turning up
the back part of the chopper it folds ovel
on the axle and affords q good seat fol
the driver while in transit from one part
of the field to another, and in going to
and from the field.
There is an adjustable marker attached
to the chopper for the purpose Of laying
off the track for the horses in travelling
the next course The machine is extreme.
ly simple. It has no casting about
it. All the metallic work is made ot
wrought iron and steel. If it is in need
of repair the work can be done by any
ordinary blacksmith. Any ordinary
plough hand can learn how to manage it
in 6. few minutes. 1t requires no skill to
put it together. When shipped from the
factory it is in complete condition and
ready for work. The price is sufficiently
low to permit the smallest farmer to pur.
chase me.
This machine is made solely by Mr..
Reardon at his workshop in Sumter. 1t
has been tried by several experienced
cotton planters and pronounced q com.
plete success. Your correspondent saw
it tried upon ground very imperfectly
prepared, and it did its work very efec.
lively. Mr.. ReardoD is so confident Of
the value of the chopper that he offered
to forfeit to the school fund the sum of
S10O upon failure to chop out one acre
per hour in any properly prepared field
Corr espondence Nssos and Courier.