Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-03-17
NO. II:
CoCKRILL COTTON PICKER.
that Can Pick and Clean
the Crop and Make the WhOleCrop.
INTERESTING rAcTsFoR COTTON PLAN
TIERS.
New ORLEANS, March II, 1851.

the Editor OF the New Orleans Democrat
You have published several letters
addressed to me written by the Hon.
s. R. Cockrill, vice president Of the
Cotton Planters Association. relative
to the Improvement in picking and
gathering cotton from thep plant. This
should be taken seriously into consid-
Grafton by the planters who cultivate
the plant
Without further explanationI sub
NIT to you again for your considera-
ton and publication two letters, dated
January ~ and March !, instant. Ny
impression is that they will be read
with great interest, especially by
those who have read the former let
ters published on the same subject in
the Democrat Of January and Febru--
ary last.
lnasmuch as this new valuable dis
covery and invention by the Hon. s.
R. Cockrill, cotton planter Of wide
fame, is concerned, all journals in the
cotton growing regions, that have not
already done SO, should copy the for
mer letters and the following upon
this important subject.
+ THOMAS j. SPEAR.
PINE BLUFF, Ark, march,, 1881.
Mr. Spear:
Dear Sir-Yours of the twenty
fourth ultimo is before me. | am
pleased to hear from you at any time.
Mr.. J. W. Thorn, Of Iuka, Miss, is
the leading mechanic in constructing
the machines, and the patent will is
sue in his name, Ipresume, or at least
a large interest in it. He has been de-
layed for wantofsufiicient means. The
huller, or separator, of the bolls and
cotton has been a difficult machine to
manage and has consumed much time.
The cleaners will do-No. ! and No.
2. So of the clippers.
You can answer the inquiries about
cost and capacity about in this man.
ner:
The cleaners aud huller (being g.
machines) will cost at first about $50
each, and the clippers-No. l and No.
2-about S25 each. That's, $3.50 and
$50-$200. Capacity ten bales a day.
Whitney's gin started with thirty
saws, and one bale day. Now gins
have 80 to 100 saws and gin fifteen
bales day. In short, there is scarcely
a limit to machinery as to capacity.
The history of all machines shows
this. improvements will commence
as soon as the original becomes public.
l am the discoverer Of the plan and
the mechanic invents the machines to
do the work. We commenced on the
cleaners first, then the huller, and
then the clippers and before we reach
ed that point / abandoned the idea of
a field-picker, and decided that to at
tempt it was folly. This fixed the
plan as now given-stationary ma
chinery-and ] decide now that sue
cess is certain. We want your ma
chine or mill, or whatever is necessa-
ry to utilize the stalks and limbs and I,
hulls. The bulls or hollis will make
brown paper, no doubt. leave that,
to you.
You have studied the "fibre ques-
tion," and now / want your attention
directed to the cotton stalks and limbs.
My plan for picking the crop is to
pull the stalks up and haul them out
of the field, and then cut off the limbs
and then clip the hollis from the limbs.
At this point they are ready for
your mill or water vat. They must
be removed out Of the way as they 20
through the clippers. You will find
the bark or fibre on the limbs very
fine. The limbs, l suppose, have
finer fibre than the stalks. The low
er part of the stalk is thicker and
stronger than the upper. | see that J.
they call the lower part of the .jute
stalk the "butt,' meaning it is coars-
er, stronger and fit for coarse goods.
Be good enough to give me your
views about what we can do with the
''stalks" as fast as the clippers take
off the limbs and boIls. There will
be no failure about pulling up the
stalks. The bolls twenty-five days
old will open-that is, you may pull
up the stalks and make a full "aver-
age crop" That is certain, and that
is success. A full average crop of
cotton, and the fibre and bulls and
rye nasture for mnfton and wool