Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-08-02

las soon as there is general 1ntesta-
ton in a field after squares begin
to form and each field should be
busted every few days until squares
saved are not likely to. mature boiis
or until the number of boil WeeVllS
in the field is so small that no dam
age is being done. The work should
be done at night or in early morning,
while the dew is on the plants, be-
cause the poison dust does not stick
on the plant except under such con-
ditions.
essary. because of the act that the
cotton is growing rapidly, and new
tender squares are being formed every
dav. The boil weevils conflne their
feeding to these tender parts and they
must be covered if the weev1ls are TO
get any of the poison.
With the best machinery it Will
take four to seven pounds OF calcium
arsenate per acre at each application
|essarv to make three to seven appl1-
cations each season, therefore, the
nsIaI requirement. will be about five
applications averaging tlve POUNDS %
"a ici1lm arsenate per acre, or ABOUT
25 or 80 pounds per acre per year:
There are four general types OF
machinery adapted to cotton busting.
These are, hand machines, operated by
a man walking and busting one row
at a time; mule-back and busting
either one or two rows at a time; one
horse power machine pulled Py e one
a wheel rolling on the ground with
the driver walking behind and car
rying two rows at time; tWo-horse
power machine on which the operator,
rides, the power being derived from
the wheels, and the machine busting
70 five at a time.
The operation of the hand machine
is very hard work and will usually
be unsatisfactory. busting is not
usually done thoroughly and eff
GENTLY by these machines. They can
be used to advantage by farmers
who have small areas, and can be
used to dust small infested spots
can not be expected to take care Of
mora than five to ten acres.
The mule-back machine has the
same general objections that the
hand machine has. The work can
be done somewhat more rapidly and
one machine may be expected TO
take care of ten to twenty acres a
One-horse machines have only re-
Gently been perfected, and have not
been tried out on large scale. II
properly made it is likely that they
will fit the needs of the greatest ma
1ority Of cotton farmers. They are
drawn by one horse or mule with
the driver walking behind as with
cultivator or planter and they carry
two rows at time. They should
do the work much more Thoroughly
and efficiently than either hand or
mule-back machine and the work will
machines may be expected to take
care of twenty to fifty acres per
year.
The large power machine is best
adapted to the needs of the large
operator. with large fields. These
machines carry three rows at time
and can cover twenty to thirty acres
a night One machine can take care
of thirty to one hundred acres OF
cotton.
The expense of poison, machinery,
and labor may be a total loss II the
should not be attempted at all If 1t
is not done properly in all details:
Tests covering a period Of several
years show that it will probably not
pay to poison cotton on land that
has a prospect of making less than
one-half bale per acre, owing to the
high cost of materials.
To receive the highest price for
cotton it should be picked as soon as
it is open. Labor conditions are
often such that this cannot be done
without some adjustment in our
present system, but it should be
borne in mind that every day cotton
stays in the field after it is open it
is being reduced in value In 1920
a patch of cotton was left on the
college farm to test the effect of
weather on grade with the follow
ing results:
Date picking. September. 20; grade,
strict midd1ing; value January 1,
1921, 1915 cents.
Date picking, November 1; grade,
low middling; value January 1,
1921, 1925 cents.
Date picking, December /; grade,
good ordinary; value January 1,
1921, 7.25 cents.
Date picking, January 1; grade,
below grade; value January l, 1921,
8 to cents.
Cotton should be picked as soon
as it is al open in order that the
stalks may be destroyed several
weeks in advance of frost.
Where boil weevil damage is an
important factor the cotton should
be picked out early. The stalks
should then be destroyed. This ear
ly destruction of stalks will have an
;0a