Some East Carroll Inventors

The Rust Brothers, Mark and John
- the mechanical cotton picker -
Around 1929, the Rust brothers came to Hollybrook, La. to work for Mr. Tib Mitchiner and Mr. Oscar Ameringer. During their spare time the brothers worked on an invention at the Amacker’s seed-house. They eventually developed a motorized cotton picker that could pick five bales of cotton a day. In 1934, it was tested at an experiment station in Mississippi and was eventually adopted by all large-scale farmers.
BIOGRAHIES: “Alphy Pittman Surles helped back the Rust brothers in their development of the cotton picker.” From “A Place to Remember”, by Georgia Pinkston.

George T. Hider
In 1937-’38, a local planter perfected a “May-pole Tractor”. In the center of the cotton field, a twelve-foot tower was erected with a drum 12 ¼ inches in diameter atop it. A cable leading from the drum was connected to a tractor. When the tractor was started and placed at the outer edge of the field (or at the center), the cable winding around the drum guided the tractor steadily around the field. A field as large as 120 acres could thus be plowed, planted, and cultivated.
Mr. Hider, a graduate in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, a planter, ginner and former bank Vice-President, failed to obtain a patent from the U. S. Patent Office, but he did patent his invention in Russia, Germany, France, and Great Britain.
Mrs. Hider is further credited with another important agricultural development. A cotton dryer for gins was tested at Transylvania, and Mr. Hider was asked by ginners in Madison Parish to devise and install one like it for them, which he did. ("Aside", Mr. Hider adds, “Almost burning the gin up, in the process!”)
Mr. Hider in 1929 went to Peru to install several for ginners there. This idea never was patented, but it is widely used today with modifications.
BIOGRAPHIES: “Mr. Hider won national recognition with an automatic device which controls a tractor by remote control.” From “A Place to Remember”, by Georgia Pinkston.

W. E. “Pop” Patrick (from newspaper)
Mr. Patrick, a farm owner on Route Done, in 1970 invented a special sprayer mounted on farm machines to automatically spray the grass or weeds that stand higher than the cotton or bean crops. The sprayer saves both money and time since spraying can be done simultaneously with cultivation. The sprayer is patented and is sold by the Patrick Sprayer Corporation. E. W. Patrick, President. It is widely used in the Louisiana-Mississippi-Arkansas area, and is comparatively inexpensive.

Taylor, F. M. (from newspaper)
We are informed that our friend F. M. Taylor, Agent, has invented a self-adjustable corn prop.