New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-01-22
A MACHINE TO PICK COTTON.
VIEWS OF AN INyENTOR-A FIELD WHERE MA
CHINERY Is BADLY NEEDED


Charles I. Mason, the inventor of the Mason
cotton harvester, is young man, a native Of South
Carolina, and has spent most OF his life within sight OF
the cotton fields He has been working the cotton
harvester for nine years He said to TRIBUNE reporter
recently
"Ihe extended use of my machine for the harvest
Ing Of cotton will almost effect a revo-
luton in contemplating, and 1t may bring
about considerable change in the price Of cotton Ii
VIII do the work Of thirty forty At present 1t
costs the planter about 80 to pack bale OF cotton by
the use OF the harvester bale he packed at cost
OF ~ 90 Ii cost nearly SJ0000,000 to harvest the
great cotton crop of lS-2, and how great
VIII De the aggregate amount saved when the crop is
gathered by machinery None OF these harvesters have
been manufactured the market yet We hope to have
q limited number in use next fall. ! am making some
lur,her Improvements in the invention. The machine
will he sold for about $3.50"
harvester the only machine of the kind in the
since $40 one hundred patents have been given to
the inventors 81 contemplating machines. have never
in Washington. There Is no cotton picklng machine in
use In Texas they have kind OF rough machine
mating quality, and gathers wood leaves and
ailt ana mixes these foreign matters with the cotton.
somewhat; large number OF slender cylindrical rollers
armed with teeth which lie below the surface OF the cyl
nde run over every inch of the cotton plant and the
boil has opcned wide enough indicate that the plant
Il ready FOR picking, the fibre is graspcd by the sunken
teeth ana an other substances and pass through the
the machine. Nothing but the cotton is taken
negro boy and mule gather crop of cotton
with We nave protected our patent in all of the cot
ton'growing countries IN the world, and In England"
what Will he the effect OF your invention upon cot
tons rOwcrs and ldbOrers in the south y
" In south Carolina my invention will not be well
coined The farmers there look forward to its introduce
ton with gloomy forcbolings In Texas there will be
an enthusiastic demand for the hsrvcsters.
me south Carolina farmers cannot raise cotton
IN sdch abundance IL ia produced In Texas
equal amount OF land. They have To make extensive
use of commercial fertilizers and with the additional
pense they do not begin to produce "a pounds TO
the acre a. the Texas planters do In South Carolina there
Is large negro population and labor cheap The cot
ton grower there gather all OF his crop at smaller
expense than his Texan competitor lii Texas there is
not enough field labor and large portion OF the al
ways lost sometimes fully one half Of II * not gathered.
There i no dount that they will have great advantage
over the cotton growers Of south Carolina and that they
will be- able 10 undcrsc them. The negroes will have 10
seek other employment. There IL always enough else
Tor them Ia do other crops have been neglected In the
South because the negroes would do little else than pick
cotton during the season when il Il harvested. do not
fear that the Introduction of machine will
distress among the colorcd people think they will find
abundance OF profitable employment in other
directions"