The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-04-15

for the week ending this evening were s2,654
bales. against q, S6S the corresponding day last
year, falling offduring the week OF 81 100 bales
The exports To Great Britain were 1850. France
b506. continent ash, channel ports s, 79L Stock
on hand at all the ports 7Si7ii. against 6si6a
the corresponding day last year, still showing an
excess OF 5poi7 bales.
In perusing the article on cotton and Its future
An opportunity for invention" AS appearing in
the Scientific American supplement- of February
18th, lSS2 one acquainted with the cotton coun-
try and the actual work of harvesting the or D.
cannot but be struck with the imRracticable ma
ture of most Of the notions presented. That the
devices described and the ideas advanced are
chiefly those of men unfamiliar with the require.
ments which they have ATTEMPTED TO meet Is
easily seen. II is surprising TO notice that most
OF the cotton picking inventions. as shown, are
the product of northern minds aud this may ac.
count for their being so foreign TO the work
which they were designed to perform,
Three principles have been employed. One Is
that OF raking OF the cotton by, points which
brush-like; the second is that of applying spin.
dies on which the fibre is to adhere and wind
into rolls; while the third is that of suction by
an exhausting apparatus.
These principles, as applied In hand. pickers
for taking one boil at time. are inferior TO the
bare hand alone, and only offer supertluous com.
plication and expense.
As used in large machines to be hauled over
the rows all so far conrived seem better calcu-
lated 10 injure and waste cotton than to gather
and save IT, The inventors do not seem 10 have
taken into consideration the fact that the crop
does not all open at once, and that II must be
gathered by aserles of successive pickingS AT
each of which only a pOr ion of the entire crop
is open.
They appear TO proceed on the erroneous idea
that the whole crop natures and opens ut the
same time so that II can be gathered all at once,
while the plants may BIO dealt with, injured or
1pStrONrt MS thpnpl they further
value.
No planter will admit to his field Il machine to
pick the first crop that will damage the second,
or to gather the second II II will Impair the top
crop Hence planters have no use whatever
for such contrivanCes as have so far been pat.
ented.
Where the raking principle is introduced in
large machines, the plants are sacrificed and
torn IN II manner not allowable, while spindles
which scratch or drag through the plants must
similarly break oil the branches, leaves and UNI
opened bollS.
If those machines which employ the suction
principle have been made TO do less injury than
the others TO the after crop, they do the work Il
little better and possess in high degree fault
common to all, which is that of taking up with
the fibre fragments of the foliage and bolls, be-
sides dirt, etc, thus greatly impairng the mar
ket value of the cotton.
The fact is, the question of harvesting cotton
by machinery is u most ditliculfone, which, like
that of gathering the great corn crop of the nortl
by similar means, has salied the best genius o
our country, and, unless some other principles
g.. than those in the machines thus far patented
can be introduced, the problem must remaiI
unSolved. Let those who wish to cxer
else their ingenuity in this direC ion no
forget that cotton harvesting extends owe
II period of two or three months In an,
given field that the cotton when gathered il
valuable in proportion as 1t is clean, 1. c., free
from leaf, dirt, trash, etc. and that no machin
cry, in which these considerations are ignored
stands any chance of supersedng the nimbl
fingers of the young darkey