The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-07-31
Bill Arp Visits Sumter, South Caro-.
lima, and Sees the Cotton Picker.

lima, and Sees the Cotton Picker.
have seen the cotton picker. Conf.
dence is o plant of slow growth. re-.
member that when the newspapers frat
began to tell us about sewing machine
that Elias Howe had invented that would
do as much work in day as a hundred
women with thei: needles I was incredu.
lous and was indignant. / dident be.
nimble, delicate hands, and I felt like
dident want it to do 1t nohow. My good
motber had been sewing for me- years
and years, and when she flushed for her
darling son, nice pleated bosom shirt,
l was proud OF her and proud of the
shirt too. But time rolled on and the
Grover e. Baker machine got to circulat.
ing around, and found out tha. 1t was
good thing end would save power of
work, and 80 bought one for my wifo
Tithout any premonition. What beau.
tiful seamstress she was.
How nicely did she manipulate the
needle and how dearly loved to ait bg
and see her mako stitch after stitch on
| the muslin or calico or them other gar
ments and things that women and chill
| dren and infants had to wear. We have
| had infants at our house, various infants,
and it has been world Of work to keep
'em agoing and atop 'em from squaliing,
but still there has been pleasure in it.
My good wife took it all naturally and
like maternal heroine as she is. /
thought it was right funny for while,
to business. We have raised children by
the po;ind aud by the DOZEN and ny tho
cofG but VIC have never mai one come to
our house ths. 7s.seDt welcome, for sbey
always come decently aud in good order
and they have grown up to be good boyI
and better girls aud gladden. cur hearts
| with their presence. But have got off
tho track Of my thoughts. / have seen
the cotton picker and want to tell you
about 1t.
Now dident believe that any machine
could take the place Of human fingers In
| sewing and just 90 have been incredu.
lous about this cotton picking business.
The truth is made sport of it and told
our folks that it was impossible, utterly
impossible, for no machine could see, It
dident have eyes and couldent find the
bolls and some of the bols were half
open and some tWo.thirds and some hung
down and some stood up and some opened
east and some opened west and some one
way and some another and 80 had no
faith, not bit.
While here at Sumter was invited to
walk out to Elr. Masons workshop and I
went. Mr.. Mason is q bright intelligent
man about thirty years old. He loves
company and loves to talk and will lay
down his tools and tell you everything
lie knows. 1 don't suppose he has any
secrets from anybody, no doors locked,
no private room, no hiding place for his
wonderful work, He shows YOU every.
thing and tells you what he thinks of
doing that he has not done. He gave
me one of the little revolving tubes that
picks the cotton from the bolls. It is
seven inches long aud about Il inches in
diameter. This little thing is the inven.
tion. All the rest of the contrivapce 10
to put it in motion. Four dozen of them
| will be working ct once on cotton stock
and If there Is any cotton open they will
find it. There are two Upright cylinders
three feet high that straddle q cotton row
like sulky plow straddles row of coru
and these little tubes revolve horizontally
in the cylinders. They turn round and
round rapidly. The cylinders revolye
on their AXIS and these tubes revolve on
theirs rs they folIov the cylinders round
and round. They are sure to touch every
boil and If the cotton hes opened and
swells ou. o fraction Of an inch the little
delicate points of the pickers get it and
roll it all out in an instant and by O re.
versed motion unload it on platform
aud from there it is carried up and put
In sack and packed until it is full.
Horse power pulls the machine along the
row. The machine weighs three hun
dred pounds. Some of them are made
for three feet cotton and some for four
and some for five. saw the little
spindles set to work on cotton bolls half
opened AID they left nothing, and yet
they will revolye in your hand and not
hurt you or prick you. There are 800
sharp points in each spindle. They are
just iiildef tho surface and will catch the
s.:t .:a. IL: 10: y:.:=E e=h c. :hs leavez or
the sEa..z- The imperfect machine Of
last year picked 800 pounds an hour.
The perfect machine which he has now
is expected TO pick 6eG pounds &C hour.
Mr.. Mason has his own machinery,
makes his own lathe and his dies and
stamps and wheels and everything. He
10 backed by capital unlimited snd has
refused million of dollars that was
offered him. He is making large ma.
chimes for Texas and Arkansas and
smaller ones for the Eastern States. His
plan is to charge royalty and let the
machines be made anywhere. It 10 o
thing of life and sense and does just
what you tell 1t to do. When the cotton
is well open for the first picking it goes
along and picks 1t and then you wait for
the next picking. It takes in no trash
or dead leaves, nothing but cotton. Now
be has gin that operates on the same
principle. These little pickeEs have ex.
panded into cylinder as long az the
shaft and as large round 40 gin saw
and they catch the lint and an iron bar
keeps the seed from following the lint
and forces them hack. The lint is not
cut or torn. He Is using q Winship
frame, taking out the cove and putting
his cylinder in their place. 1t gins twice
as fast as the saws and there is no danger
to hands or arms, put my open hand
on the cylinder while 1t was making g..
900 revolutions a minute. He dropped
d handful Of shingle nails in the opening
and they were carried through in an
instant and did no harm, Experts from
northern factories say the lint IL worth
ten per cent more than lint cut by the
! old method. aal
Twas terminating over this new mode
Of picking cotton, and to my mind It ia
going TO work revolution Ia our farm.
Ing. In the first place poor man can't
buy one. In the next place he can't
afford to give fifty cents hundred for
picking when his nabor, who has got o
| q machine can pick his for ten cents o
hundred or less. Then again the ma.
okfoa 1,o-k v,,n1l An Sn--k IxSlIx,