Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-12-25
FARM EDUCATION
! The AirpIane busting of Cotton
BY DR.. ANDREW M. SOULE

ollly SOoo CIOp VI COIlOil III 1SOI
ria in 1924 That long spell of wet
weather. in September produced con-
litions essentially favorable for the
eproduction of the weevil and, as
! result thereof, a large crop of
hem have gone into Information.
The idea that we will not need TO
u lust cotton in 1925 is a mistaken
potion, for unless we have an IN
usually severe WA1ter, there will be
more weevils coming, out of hiberna-
ion to infest our fields early next
~ pr1ng than has been true for sew
1 .ral years past. Our losses in Geor-
Ia from weeVil damage to our cot
on fields have indeed been appall
ng. Let us not delude ourselves
nto the belief that this menace to
otton cultivation will not prove de-
tructive another year.
n Undoubtedly thousand nos
runs have been suggested for boil
,veeVll control. Nearly every day
ONE new plan is brought to light.
4 careful and painstaking investi-
cation of all of these has proven
heir utter inadequacy. AS yet, TIE
only thing found of a dependable
Mature is the busting Of cotton with
calcium arsenate. 1t is now evident
hat this busting should begin rela-
lively early and be continued long
Enough to protect the cotton against
injury by the crop of migrating
l Eeevils, which usually begin their
Il Tight in Georgia from about the
/ middle of August to the first of Sep
tember. In the light of all the e.
earch and Investigations which
have been made therefore, it is
1 elear that calcium arsenate is the
r lest remedy for us to use in the
NtiglsA against the weevil. How cal
we apply it most effectively and
Sehemes for its use have beer
worked out. Many seem to still be-
ieve that it can be applied effect
lively in the form of a spray. Some
.observers claim to have devised a
plan by which certain materials can
De mixed with the calcium arsenate
Ind thus make it adhere more tena
siously to the leaves of the plants.
others are advocating the use of cal
tium arSenate mixed with molaSSes
tpartlcularly in the early stages of
Me development of the cotton plant.
others have held from the begin
ming that it should only be applied
rs a dust spray. There is a very
Babel of tongues" abroad in the
land discussing this subject, and it
certainly will do no harm for us -
pause for a moment, sit down, and
I consider these various claims and
zee if we can determine upon the
most satisfactory method Of apply
ing this material
Calcium arsenate may be applied
With hand-guns. mule back guns.
MORROW busters, and powerdusters,
which carry several nozzles, thereby
Inabling the landowner to poison
several acres of land in a compare
lively short time. 1t can also be
applied on a larger scale by air
! planes. Tie small farmer, who only
MAS from five 20 ten acres in cotton,
will likely have to depend on a SIM
pie hand gun. Probably the man
with twenty-five to forty acres II
continue to use mule-back- machine,
r a two.row buster. Undoubtedly,
many farmers having considerable
areas OF land planted to cotton, say
Fifty to one hundred acres, will con-
! tinue to use the power type of ma
! chine. The big grower, however, is
9sventualiy going ito use the airplane.
This fact has been demonstrated al
'eady to the satisfaction of every
thinking man, for airplane busting
/. of cotton has now been practiced
! with both success and satisfaction
for nearly three years past. These
demonstrations have so firm hold
upon the ina gination of large cotton
Agrowers in the Mississippi delta and
I'm other sections of the country
that they have already arranged to
dust their cotton by means of air
\ planes in 1925. Is the use of the
1 airplane necessarily to be confined
] to the needs Of the large farmer? l
think not. You may ask why | hold
| to this belief? 1t is for the reason
! that any number of farmers can so
in together and so aggregate the
areas of land they cultivate in cot
ton as to make the use of the air
\plane for protecting their cotton
kcrop practical matter.
In the present stage of the de-
yelopment of the alrplane, it cannot.
be used satisfactorily on areas of
land of less than fifty acres in eX.
tent. 1t would be better if the hold
lngs included one hundred acres.
There is no reason. however. why
several farmers should not so plant
! their cotton as to have it in con-
tiguous body. On the other hand,
1there are hundreds of farmers in
ASeorgia who will plant from one to
tive hundred acres in cotton in 1925.
In that event, there should be no
trouble in securing the location Of
one thousand acres and upward ia
cotton in many communities. Is 1t
practicable to dust one thousand
acre fields of cotton? The area
which one airplane can undertake
~ IL, L., &c
about 1000 acres. 1t should not be
Vifficult to find areas of this char
Scter in many of our Georgia coun.
ties, because from fifteen to twenty
per cent OF the cultivated land is de-
voted TO cotton. There are a few
counties which devote $4,000 to so
600 acres of land TO cotton. Where
the country is comparatively leVe,
sand there are not many trees, and
The fields are fairly we'll concentrate
ed airplane busting can be done to
the very best advantage. Under
such circumstances and conditions,
the use of the airplane for the pl.o
Ntection of the cotton crop is to be
recommended. Some one will say that
sthe idea of using airplanes for th-
purpose indicated constitutes mere
flight of the Imagination. IN this
they are entirely mistaken, as a
demonstration of the use of this
equipment for this purpose will def
nitely show.
In the test recently made at Amer
icuS, the airplane was able to fly al
a height of about twenty feet above
the cotton field and to distribute a
great broad cloud of thoroughly
Sulverized dust over large area Of
hnd each time it Circled the field.
One of these clouds laid down. say
every three hundred feet. resulted in
the thorough distribution OF the poi
son on all sides OF the plant and over
the space intervening between the