Kinder v. Godfrey

1 In November, 1953 the plaintiff, who had 21 years farming experience, was employed by defendant as a farm laborer. His duties included operation of a mechanical cotton picker, which was attached to and powered by a farm tractor. A part of the machines mechanism consisted of a revolving shaft, upon which turned a cylinder with projecting teeth, which stripped cotton from the stalks. In normal operations the rollers within the machine often became clogged as a result of stalks being caught in blades, referred to as "kickers," which carried the cotton back from the rollers. When this occurred it became necessary to dislodge the stalks from the rollers, otherwise the picked cotton would fall to the ground as waste instead of being carried back into a trailer attached for this purpose. The evidence showed clearing (unclogging) of the rollers was facilitated by keeping the machine idling and the rollers turning, otherwise the stalks had to be pulled from under the machine, or cut out of the rollers by hand.