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in the desired location in reference to the seeds. This work is being carried on in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry, with the Colorado Agricultural College, and with the University of California.

COTTON PRODUCTION WORK

The other study that the committee might be interested in is the work that we have been doing on cotton production. As we see the problem, cotton is the main cash crop of the South, and seed-bed preparation, cotton planting, and its early cultivation conflict with the planting of most summer crops, especially summer legumes, and with the harvesting of fall-planted grains. The cotton-picking again conflicts with the harvesting of summer crops and the planting of fall grains and winter soil-building legumes.

We have been endeavoring to work out methods for cutting down the amount of time required in the production of cotton by the better use of machinery so that more time would be available for production of other crops. We feel that we have made considerable progress.

We have records of four different methods that we have used where the total cost per acre of power ranges from $3.16 to $16.92. With our best method of a very small amount of cultivation-just enough to control the weeds--we have produced cotton for $3.16 an acre and we got $50.41 worth of cotton, and on the same field and with the methods commonly used in that region it cost $16.92 for power and labor and the amount of cotton produced was worth $50.20.

Mr. SANDLIN. I am interested to know that they could get $50 an acre, considering the character of the cotton in the last few years. Mr. MCCRORY. These are the 1933 records. Mr. SANDLIN. Where was that located?

Mr. MCCRORY. At Prattville Station, Alabama. We grew a rather high quality of cotton there, and we got a very good return. Mr. SANDLIN. Is that in the bottom lands?

Mr. MCCRORY. Yes, sir. It has a very good top soil, and it was picked particularly because it was uniform and rather a rich soil. It is an ideal soil from the standpoint of experimental work.

We got 1,082 pounds of seed cotton from the first method and 1,040 pounds-

Mr. SANDLIN. If it were seed cotton, that would not be worth anything like $50.

Mr. MCCRORY. I gave you the values that Mr. Randolph, our engineer, gave me. I find that he used an average value over a period. If the price was lower the relative showing would be more favorable.

Mr. SANDLIN. That much seed cotton would gin out a third of it. That would be three-hundred-and-some-odd pounds.

Mr. MCCRORY. It is a long-staple cotton; about an inch and a quarter, or something like that.

VARIABLE DEPTH PLANTER

Another interesting result from that study is the results that we have obtained with our variable depth planter. We have a record from 321 comparable experiments now where the variable depth planter and the ordinary planter have been used. In 253 the number of young plants was greater with the variable depth planter, and we

had a full stand in 299 of the instances in which we used the variable depth planter, and in the final stand we had a better number of plants with the variable depth planter 264 times as contrasted with 57 times from the commercial planters. We had to replant on the variable depth planting only 9 times, while on the commercial planters we had to replant on 42 of the experiments.

You may be interested in this circular describing the planter [submitting a circular].

Mr. SANDLIN. I guess the reason for that is that a variable depth planting, notwithstanding weather conditions, and the rainfall and all, of course, affects the stand.

Mr. MCCRORY. It affects the stand.

Mr. SANDLIN. If it is planted at variable depths, some of the cotton will come up; it matters not what kind of weather conditions there are or how many inches of rainfall; is that it?

Mr. MCCRORY. That is the idea.

Mr. SINCLAIR. You do not plant the seed all at the same depth, then?

Mr. MCCRORY. No; it varies in depth from perhaps a quarter of an inch to whatever the farmer wants.

Mr. SINCLAIR. And your experience is, of course, that it is giving better yields by so planting?

Mr. MCCRORY. By securing a better stand. You understand that they chop out a great deal of the cotton each year. They plant it thick and then thin it out.

Mr. SINCLAIR. I see; and the variable planting gives a better chance to thicken it up?

Mr. MCCRORY. Yes, sir.

The same idea is being applied to other things. We had a very interesting letter from a cantaloupe grower, who saw the device described and made one, and had found it very successful. I think it will be rather generally adopted in the country in the near future. Mr. SANDLIN. That is very interesting.

Mr. MCCRORY. We have a public-service patent on that, and it is apparently going to be placed in commercial production quite generally. There are two or three firms that are making it at the present time.

Mr. SANDLIN. Has any bulletin been issued on that yet?
Mr. MCCRORY. Yes, sir; we have described that.

COTTON GINNING INVESTIGATIONS

The next project we have is the cotton-ginning investigations which we are carrying on in cooperation with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. We are working on improved methods of ginning cotton. Work under this project consists of experimental laboratory studies designed to improve the equipment and methods employed in ginning cotton. Under special appropriation heretofore made by Congress, a cotton-ginning laboratory has been built at Stoneville, Miss., and experimental ginning is in progress. Preliminary investigations have indicated certain parts of the process that apparently should be studied first and these are now being investigated. To secure the benefits that can reasonably be expected from this project, it will be necessary to continue the work over a period of years. The project

is in cooperation with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. The cotton drier which was developed has been placed in production by several manufacturers. It is proving to be both efficient and economical.

You might be interested in one study that we are carrying on at the present time in regard to the effect of different kinds of saw teeth on cotton gins. We have here a set of different kinds illustrating different-sized saw teeth that we are using [exhibiting samples]. We are just getting nicely started on that study. We are getting some very interesting results. We have not gone far enough to tell what they are going to lead to.

Mr. SANDLIN. What is your objective in that study?

Mr. MCCRORY. To get the best possible lint from the cotton. We are making considerable improvement, I think, in ginning. The conditioning work that we have done is going ahead very nicely. The driers are being adopted all over the humid part of the cotton belt. Some of the results from the spinning tests that we have been getting are indicating that there is absolutely no damage to the cotton that has been conditioned in our driers: perhaps even a slight improve

ment.

Mr. SANDLIN. It is important that the cotton be well dried out. Mr. MCCRORY. Especially the green, sappy, or wet cotton. We are showing an improvement, I think, conservatively, from 50 cents. to $5 a bale. Some of the men will tell you of cases where they have had even more increase in value than that.

Mr. SANDLIN. Can this drying apparatus be sold generally? Will it be justified?

Mr. MCCRORY. We have a drier, with no moving parts, that any ginner can install and use profitably, which can be either built by himself or bought from a manufacturer. There is nothing particularly difficult or expensive about its construction, and I think that it will more than pay its way on most plantations.

That, I believe, covers our projects.

MISCELLANEOUS RESEARCH

Mr. SANDLIN. There is miscellaneous research. Have you discussed that?

Mr. MCCRORY. The miscellaneous-research project covers a multitude of small projects which are not large enough to be taken up as projects. We get a great number of those each year.

ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE

Mr. SANDLIN. What about the advice and assistance project? Mr. MCCRORY. That includes our editorial work on publications and answering a large number of letters and inquiries that come to the office. Our correspondence has been running very heavy. It is steadily increasing, and it is quite a problem to take care of it with the staff that we now have.

Mr. SINCLAIR. You issue bulletins when you make any pronounced discovery?

Mr. MCCRORY. Yes, sir; wherever possible we put out a bulletin. We can send a man a bulletin and a short letter, whereas if we do not have the bulletin we have to write a long letter.

Mr. SINCLAIR. The bulletin is really a saving in your office work? Mr. MCCRORY. Yes, sir; it is a great saving.

LIMITATION ON PURCHASE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

Mr. SANDLIN. You do not contemplate the purchase of any vehicles during the year 1935?

Mr. MCCRORY. I made a very careful survey of our automobiles and decided that we could operate the cars we have during the next fiscal year.

P.W.A. AND C.W.A. FUNDS

Mr. SANDLIN. Referring to these emergency funds that you list on page 41, that sets out how this money was allotted or planned to be allotted?

Mr. MCCRORY. Yes, sir.

Mr. SANDLIN. The money has been used for improvements to buildings, laboratories, and so forth, I suppose.

Mr. MCCRORY. It was used to improve the cotton-ginning laboratory at Stoneville, Miss. ; a shed for experimental machinery at Moorestown, N.J.; an addition to the present laboratory at Arlington_Farm; for extending an artificial forage drying plant that we have at Jeanerette, La.; for improving the experimental installation at Belgrade, Fla; the construction of two experimental sand traps, at Hebron, Calif.; which I described to you yesterday, for the storage of underground water in California; the completion of the irrigation drainage system at Medford, Oreg., and a new laboratory for studying farmtillage machinery at Auburn, Ala. Then, a certain amount of money was allotted to each of the soil-erosion stations for physical improvements. That is handled jointly by the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils and ourselves.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1934.

BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY

STATEMENTS OF PAUL G. REDINGTON, CHIEF; W. C. HENDERSON, ASSOCIATE CHIEF; W. L. MCATEE, CHIEF, DIVISION OF FOOD HABITS RESEARCH; STANLEY P. YOUNG, CHIEF, DIVISION OF PREDATORY ANIMAL AND RODENT CONTROL; F. G. ASHBROOK, CHIEF, DIVISION OF FUR RESOURCES; AND F. C. LINCOLN, DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

Mr. SANDLIN. We will take up the Bureau of Biological Survey. The first item is the introductory paragraph, and is as follows:

For salaries and employment of labor in the city of Washington and elsewhere, furniture, supplies, including the purchase of bags, tags, and labels printed in the course of manufacture, traveling and all other expenses necessary in conducting investigations and carrying out the work of the bureau, including cooperation with Federal, State, county, or other agencies or with farm bureaus, organizations, or individuals.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

Mr. SANDLIN. The first item of appropriation is for general administrative expenses, as follows:

General administrative expenses: For necessary expenses for general administrative purposes, including the salary of chief of bureau and other personal services in the District of Columbia, $72,978.

You may discuss this item, if you will, Mr. Redington, and tell us of the work done under it.

Mr. REDINGTON. The following statement is presented under the administrative item:

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Increase, Budget 1935, compared with estimated obligations 1934._____

3, 681

The reduction of $3,887 in the 1935 estimate of $72,978 below the appropriation of $76,865 for 1934 consists of:

Impoundment of 6% percent of 15 percent pay out
Curtailments in 1934 working funds..

5 percent salary restoration...

-$4, 905

-2, 663

+3, 681

-3, 887

WORK DONE UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION

The work under this appropriation relates chiefly to general administration under the Chief and Associate Chief of the Bureau; business administration including the handling of personnel matters, budget, and other matters pertaining to finances, bookkeeping, auditing of accounts, property, mail and files, and securing of quarters, etc.; and information and editorial work. The continuation of this appropriation is necessary to provide for the payment of salaries, traveling and other expenses for the general administrative force of the Bureau and of the various units thereunder; for the purchase of supplies and equipment, and for the maintenance expenses of the various units.

EMERGENCY FUNDS APPLICABLE UNDER THIS HEADING

An allotment of $990 was approved by the Civil Works Administration December 7, 1933, to cover the salaries of two persons to edit manuscripts which have accumulated over a period of time and to assist in the preparation of related press and radio materials and reports on which there is need for additional assistance due to increased activity on Public Works projects.

C.W.A. FUNDS

Mr. SANDLIN. You had a small item from the Civil Works Administration. How did you spend that?

Mr. REDINGTON. That allotment of $990 was for the employment of two persons to edit manuscripts which have accumulated over a period of time and to assist in the preparation of related press and radio materials. We have been behind for many years in the working up of our manuscripts, and we were very happy to receive that help to get us up to date.

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