Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-06-20
Cotton, from the Field to the Fac

He
may form an appropriate heading for this
letter to the readers of the Industrial ReVieao,
| and though It must, of necessity, be some
| what sketchY and imperfect, from want of
| longer experience of the details OF the
subject, It may answer to include such ideas
and impressions as | gathered during visit
to the Atlanta Exposition in December last,
and such wayside notes as l picked up on
my trip, including visit to Columbus and
Augusta.
An experience of many years, in and
| among the cotton mills of the North, has
given me a pretty fair knowledge OF the
condition in which cotton should reach them
to be OF the greatest proft to the msnufsc-
turer, and l can but believe that cotton de-
an equal share Of such profit to the pro-
Queer. Ny attention, in common with that
of many other Northern visitors, was esps-
cially drawn TO the variety OF cotton gins on
exhibition at Atlanta, aud the different re-
suits on the fibre which they produced, as
we'll as the apparent ignorance dis
played by the parties who were
operating these gins as to the special
condition of the cotton delivered by
them, SO far as the wants OF the manufac-
turer were considered. This subject has
been preached before, both ty myself and
other gentlemen fully as conversant with
the matter; but 1t is one OF such importance
that It will bear repetition, even to the ex-
tent of "hammering 1t in" and | may say
that what struck US all as remarkable was
the attention paid 10 the bright, clean look
OF the cotton as It came from the gin, rather
than to the preservation of the length OK
the staple, which is the most importaag'
matter to the manufacturer, VINO has at his
command In his preparatory machinery the
necessary appliances for removing a con-
siderable amount of leaf and broken seed
without injury to the fibre.
Had 1t not been for the old "saw gin" the
cotton crop of the world would never have
reached its present extent and importance;
but 1t seems to me that the time has now
come when more improved appliances must
take its place, and when some one or more of
the forms of "knife and roller" must take the
p ace of the old "saws," which, unless in
perfect order, are very destructive to the
staple. A good deal Of attention was drawn
to the performances OF the Scattergood
'needle-pointed gin" at the Centennial Elk
position at Philadelphia, in 1876, for this
gin not only delivered q large quantity of
cotton per hour, but, from the rounded form
of It's tooth, did so without material injury
to the fibre. Practical operation of this gin
has since developed a mechanical ce'ect in
its construction, in the manner in which the
needle teeth were held in a matrix OF softer
metal, which gave way with the strain of
constant use, allowing the teeth to become
loose and fly ou'; but this has, believe,
been obviattd by the inventor since that
time. Still, / think that the universal
verdict of the manufacturing visitors was
In favor Of the cotton produced re-
suectively from the knife and roller gin of
Mes'rs. Plat, Bros. q Co OF Oldham, Eng
land, the American belt gin of F. H. Chase
d Co., Boston, Mass, and the improved Nc
earthly gin, of John s. Livingston, Orange
Springs, Fla, the only objection made to
these forms of gin being the small quantity
produced per day, as compared with the
product of the saw gin.
Here comes In the economical Question:
els it not beet and more profitable, In the
long run, to use form OF gin which does
not deliver quite so many pounds of cotton
per day IL thereby the value OF that cotton
can be advanced one-haf cent per pouud?"
aud the answer to that question is anxlously
awaited by many Northern manufacturers,
particularly by those who have had the
opportunity at Atlanta of seeing these
different varieties of gins 10 operation, and
noticing the effect of them on the staple OF
the cotton; for it must be understood that
the Northern manufacturers and mech mics,
as rule, have very little practical knowl-
edge OF cotton TIL 1t reaches them In the
bale, while the Southern planters, In the
same manner, know very little of its treat
ment after the same bale leaves their plan
tations.
Mr.. e iwsrd Atkinson, who is well known
to majority OF readers, by name, at least,
and who was largely instrumental In oriet
mating the exhibition at Atlanta, is devoting
great deal of time and thought to this
subject, and by his advice and assistance a
couple OF young gentlemen from the North
have spent the winter In the cotton growing
States, In the IN Vesti9ation of this subject.
as was explained by him In paper pre-
spnted at the recent meeting of the New
England Cotton Manufacturers Association
IN Boston on the 26rh of April aud will
leave this matter to turn to another impor-
tant point-uamely, the exEraneous dirt and
foreign matter 10 the bales, about which SO
much complaints has been recently made 10
England There has already been a
great deal said about this matter in
the columns OF the various journals, and one
Southern writer, In a letter to the Boston
Journal Of Commerce, attempted to deny the
charges OF false packing IN tQt0, while, at
the same time, he accused the treasurers of
Northern cotton mills OF employing their
poor relations as cotton buyers, and then
quietly winkiDg at the receipts of cotton
inferior to that supposed to be purchased
while an amicahle division OF the commits
sIous was msdei This idea IL too absurd
"tO hold water" for a moment: for the prsc
teal men who operate the mills are not
usuhilJ buC pOOI ICldbiOub VI TUG kT6dNuT6TS.
and are, In most cases, men who could tel
the difference between "goOd ordinary' and
Glow middliDg" very quickly, If the name
by which the cotton were classified had any,
thing to do with the question.
1t is very probable, as has been argued,
that the changed condition Of society at the
South since the var, and the breaking I'D of
the large plantations, throwing the cultiva-
ton of cotton Into the hands OF large
number Of small producers, both white and
black, each anxious TO get as much money
from his crops as pcssible, and In MANY
cases not oyer serupulous as to the means
by which It was accomplished, NAV have
had something to do with the matter; but
nv own impression is that the stories
of false PACKING have been made the
most Of, II not largely exaggerated, and
that, when the naturally dirty condition of
the last crop, osing to the drought, is taken
into consideration, a careful examination
will show that matters are not so much
worse than they have been in previous yea. s.
During the years 1878, was engaged in
managing a small cotton mill with a very
small working capital, where the cotton was
often bought In small lots, from "hand to
mouth as the saying is; and thiuk, dur
ing those years, found instances of false
packing fully equal To any of those OF which
complaint has been recently made. | have
found bales containing from thirty to fifty
per cent. of clear sand have found seed
and sand in the centre of bales, literally
and evidently thrown In by the shovelfnl
from the floor of the gin house, and
occasionally stone ar two, an old boot,
once cannon Dall, and once broken-axle-
tree; bat the latter cases was always more
inclined to charge to the careessness OF the
hands about the ginhoEsS than to deHbe-
rate fraud, though the sand and seed were
undoubtedly put In to make weight, and
these instances Of false packing were iu-
yarisblY In the case of SNAIL lots, such as
were probably the crop of some Of the
smaller planters l might also state that
during this time l was often called On to
examine some of these small lots In Bos-
ton before purcbaee. ana occasionally
bought evidently dirty lots of cotton for the
sake OF the superior length of stap'e. pre-
ferring, for working, "good ordinary Mo-
bile or Gulf cotton to slow middliUgn up
land. notice in all tAe lists OF complaints
frcm Englsna which have been published,
In the consular reports, and otherwise, that
the same instance is quoted of the discovery
of "loaded revolver" In one bale; but as
1t would hardly be profitable business to
sell loaded revolvers 1t eleven cents a
pound, and IS the Southern States have not,
so far, furnished many Fenian emissarIes,
think our English cousins may be viii ling to
waive all claims for false packing in that
matter.
However to return to the dirt, there is,
without question, a great deal of matter
that reaches the mills, both Of England and
the Northern States, in the bales OF cotton,
which does not belong there; and this is due
to various causes, one OF them being the
slovenly condition OF the smaller gin houses