The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1884-08-09

W DO plOuO VI htA ohN fAONN ~ e"e
shirt too. But time rolled on and
the Grover & Baker machine got
to circulating around, and l found
out that it was a good thing and
would save n power of work, and
so / bought one for my wife with
out any premonition. What "a
beautiful seamstress she was.
Now | didn't believe that any
machine could take the place of
human fingers in sewing, and just
so / have been incredulous about
this cotton picking business. The
truth is | made sport of it and
told our folks that II was impos-
sible, utterly impossible, for no
machine could see, it didn't have
eyes and couldn't find the bolls,
and some of the bolls 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 so | had no
faith, not a bit.
While here at Sumpter | was in
vited to walk out to Mr.. Mason's
workshop and went. Mr.. Mason
is a bright, intelligent man about
thirty years old. He loves COM
pany and loves to talk and will
lay down his tools and tell you
everything lie knows, don't sup
pose he has any secrets from any.
body, no doors locked, no private
room, no hiding place for his won-
derful work. lie shows you ev.
erything and tells you what he
thinks of doing that he has not
done. lie gave me one of the lit.
Ito revolving tubes that picks the
cotton from the bolls. II il seven
inches long and about one and a
quarter inches in diameter. This
little thing is the invention. All
the rest of the contrivance is to
put in motion. Four dozen of
them will be working at once on a
cotton stalk and if there is any
cotton open they will find it,
There are two upright cylinders
three feet high that straddle q cot
ton row like a sulky plow strad-
dies a row of corn and these tubes
revolve horizontally in the cyl.
inders. They turn round and
round rapidly. The cylinders re-
volve on their axis and these tubes
revolve OH theirs as they follow
the cylinders round and round.
They are sure to touch every boil,
and If the cotton has opened and
swells out o fraction of an inch
the little delicate points of the
pickers get in and roll it all out in
an instant and by reversed mo-
ton unload it on o platform and
from there 1t is carried up and put
in a sack aud packed until il is
full. Horse power pulls the ma
chine along the row. The machine
weighs three hundred 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 and they left
nothing, and yet they will revolye
in your hand aud not hurt you or
prick you. There are 800 sharp
points in each spindle. They are
just under the surface and will
catch the lint but not catch your
flesh or the leaves or the stems.
The imperfect machine of last year
picked 800 pounds an hour. The
perfect machine which he has now
is expected to pick 600 pounds an
hour. Mr.. Mason has his own ma
chinery, makes his own lathe and
his dies and stamps and wheels
and everything. He is backed by
capital unlimited and has refused
a million of dollars that was offer
ed him. He is making large ma
chimes for Texas and Arkansas
and smaller ones for the eastern
States. His plan is to charge a
royalty and let the machines be
made anywhere. 1t is a thing of
life and sense and does just what
you tell it to do. When the cot
ton is we'll open for the first pick
ing 1t goes along and picks it and
then you wait for the next pick
ing. 1t takes in no trash or dead
leaves. nothing out cotton. Now
he has a gin that operates on the
same principle. These little pick
ers have expanded into a cylinder
as long as the shaft and as large
round as a gin saw and they catch
the lint and an iron bar keeps the
seed from following the lint and
forces them back. The lint is not