The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1882-11-04
SMALL BALES OF COTTON.


lesion News and Courier, in advocacy
Of reducing the weight OF cotton bales
to hundred pounds. Whilst, proba-
bly,, some Of the reasons advanced may
not be altogether correct, there is no
question but there are enough which
are irrefutable to warrant the proposed
change:
I present you, in this communication
some suggestions upon the subject of
reducing the size of cotton bales. In
doing this l do not desire to impress
upon your readers that my ideas are
infallible, but wish to hear the reasons
on the other side of the question, if
there be any, and any objections from
those who differ with me on this sub
ject. I expect to agitate this question
still further. But to my subject.
Cotton is put up in large, unwieldy
bales of about 45O to 600 pounds, or an
average of about 500 pounds per bale,
just as it was an hundred years ago.
Everything has gone forward in the
march Of progression and improvement
except cotton packages. In the ante
bellum days, when the southern plan
ter possessed his score or more of slaves
it mattcred little to him to have half
a dozen abIe-bodied negroes to handle
bale of cotton. But in tho present
day of riding plows, Irvine binders, and
every sort Of labor saving invention,
the time is rapidly passing when the
cotton grower wants to rednce the cN-
ira force required around the gin house
and the teams for transporting such
cumbersome package. Corn, oats and
barley are not put up in 500 pound
packages, why should cotton be: Hay
has already gone through the reduc-
ton to 100 pound bales under the man.
ipulation of the shrewd northern deal
ers and growers of that article. They
were quick to see the advantages of
small bales, and now you never sec
bale of hay of over 100 pounds.
There are nogood reasons why cotton
should be packed in such large bales,
but there are ii number of good reasons
why it should be packed in 100 pound
bales.
Commencing at the cotton press, it
would not require press costing the
enormous sum of 500 to $50. A press
to put up 100 pound bales could be
built for forty or fifty dollars, and it
would not require a two story gin
house, as it would not be so high, and
Il one story house ST shed, with gin on
the groudd, would suffice.
The bagging and tiesE need .not be
Of such heavy material, No. 1G wire be-
ing amply sufficient. The farmer who
lives fifteen or twenty miles in the
country does pot have to purchase and
haul several thousand pounds OF heavy
iron ties and bagging. One hundred
pounds or so of wire fills the bill for
ties, and his bagging also reduced, if
not in yards, it will in weight.
Then, when he loads his cotton to
III 81;
easy to place the one hundred pound
his neighbors to assist in loading the
five hundred pound bales.
The cotton buyer will prefer it. 1t
reduces his yard forces, he can sample
it better; he can penetrate clear through
the bale if he wishes; no opportunity
for false packing.
The railroads would prefer it, rs it
reduces their handling force; they could
store away more cotton in Il car, there
by offering cheaper transportation.
They very frequently suffer heavily
from loss by fire burning upa whole
car load Of cotton, when III transit q
spark from the locomotive gets into Il
car of cotton, and the train mon are
unable to get at the five hundred pound
bales and move them quickly out of
tho car; whereas they could snatch the
one hundred pound bales ont quickly
and either save part or all of Il car.
Steamboats, would prefer the one
hundred bales for the same reasons,
with the further benefit of being able
to stow away more cotton, there being
many IL Granny where they could poke
in a one hundred pound bale they
could not get a five hundred FOUNDER.
Further, in the present condition of
the new south, where she is erecting
her cotton mill in every cnterprising
community, the 100 pound bales would
be far notwithstanding the expense
of tho purchase and accumulation of
the old ties, useless save for old iron.
If the compress companies arc
afraid of being hurt, they need
fear nothing, as they could place scvc-
rral one hundred pound bales together
and compress them into one bale.
AS to reducing the grade of bagsing,
common cotton cloth would answer
every purpose for the small bales. Cot
ton thereby furnishing its own cover
ing, becoming almost independent OF
iron and hemp monopolics, our home
cotton factories would reap large bone
fits in the manufacture of the cloth for
and this cotton bagging docs
not become worthless when taken Off
Tho bales at the factory as hemp bag