The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-10-11

Ceotton-The old Efothod Of cleans
Ing. e 7p .''.l5'liE7 ~ sF'1sl
The cotton gin was Invented ,in 1873.
The culture. OF cotton was begun in the
Southern colonies in l770. II was an OK,
pertinent for which the older, nations of
the world Were not prepared, and was
suited only toja bold and adventurous
people,; In, 1884, the gear after the close
OF tue Revolutionary war, o vessel from
this country, that had carried 10 LIVER
pool eight bales OF cotton, was seized In.
that port upon the suspicious charge of
Illicit trade, ground on The presumptio,i
that 80 large o quantity Of cotton could
not possibly have been the production of
the United States. Eleven years later
than this. ip l795, when tho commercial
treaty which beaEs she nsme,of Mr. Jay
was negotiated between tho Upited States
anu Great Britain, one article of tho
treaty, "a 1t originally stood, prohibited
the expectation from this country, In
American vessels, of such articles as
ireat Britain had previously imported
from the West Indies. Mr. Jay was sur.
prlsed to learn subsequently, that cotton
was included in this prohibition, and still
more surprised to DO made acquainted
with the fact, of which he was till then
wholly unaware, that cotton was becom-
ing al article of export from the United
Ctates. The culture was continued, amid
difficulties and emharrassments which
constantly threatened its abandonment.
till iE 1871 the whole, amount of cotton
exported from the United States waa bmt
1896 pounds. Tho next year. that nre-
ceding the invention of the cotton gin.
the amount exported was diminished
$4,000 pounds. There was, in fact, from
the incipiency of the culture 20 the period
of this invention, no indication Of anv
tendency to an increase Of the production.
The chief difficulty in the prosecution of
the enterprise had been found 10 DO the
extremely slow and laborious proceas Of
cleaning the green-seed cotton, or sepn-
rating it from the seed and SO serious
had this embarrassment come 10 be re-.
garded, that the cultivators were eener-
ally inclined to yield to it ca an iusuper.
able objection to what had been the grand
design of the undertaking, uamoly.
the raising of cotton for the European,
market. A -,r,,9
The green cotton seed 10 that which "a
commonly known as TIE upland or bowed
Georgia cotton, by which, name it Is dis
tinguished from that produced in the is-
lands and low districts near the shore,
called sea island, or black seed cotton,
The lstter is the finest kind, and derives
its name from the circumstance oc It's
having been the first cultivated in this
country In the low sandy island5 on the
coast of South Carolina. Il will not
flourish at distance from the sea, and
::s quality gradually deteriorates as is is
i6mo.ed from "the Baintary action cf the
oceans. spray" It hns longer fiber
than other cottons, and IL of peculiarf,
even and silky .exture, which qualities
give it its superior market valtie. The
expression "bowed," which is9applied to
upland cotton, Is descriptive Of the means
loosening the filament from the seed, pre-.
vious to the invent:on OF the Gottoi, eifi,
The process was similar To that employed
by hatters for beating up wool to the
proper consistency for feltiMs. itStrings,
attached to bow, were br0uGhtin con.
tact with heap Of uncleaned cotton and
struck So as to cause violent vibrations,
and thus to open the locks df cotton and
permit the easy separation Of the seed
from the fiber. The cleaning was like
wise done wholly by hand, the 9sofk of the
bow-strings being scarcely more efficient
than that accomplished by tlfei fingers OF
'the slaves. Iii either cass, the prLcess
was discouragingly tedious and slow.
Whitney's cotton-gin ovefcame all this
difficulty and furnished the, means of
separating the seed and cleaning the cot
ton with such economy of labor and time
as at once to give d spring TO The ngricul-
tural Industry Of the South; and an inn
petus to what in few years, comparaG
lively, became one Of the most important
branches of the commerce nijd nanufac-
lures of the world. -" {}h'L3t'' 'NfG:'