The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-10-20

o picking cotton from the field by ma,
chlnery, without injury to the growing
plants or to the immature fruit. This
contrivance was the employment of 0
pickingstem, or finger, about eigh,
inches long and about an inch iii diane.
ter, on the surface of which were ar
raj ged, small teeth or barbs, so pro.
tected by adjacent guards as to prevent
Il teeth from coming in contact with
any material except fibrous substances,
This principle of picking cotton by q
sense OF touch, as it were, is the essen
tial feature of the Mason Harvester,
without the employment Of which it is
self-evident to any II who has paid any
attention to the subject at all that the
picking OF cotton by machinery would
be an impossibility.
Having tested by Il number Of expert
ments the correctness of this principle
of discrimination between tibrous and
non-tibrous material, the inventor gradu-
ally developed the stem from it's first
ton to it's present beautiful and efficient
condition. The evolution of the picking
stem is in itself one of the most interest
ing and striking features in the develop
ment of the Harvester rs Il whole. The
a-'S' 'tSiiic WHY IittNiC vi "ottt ullNl WcIC
simply small cylinders having grooves
cut in their S a~rfaccs, in which grooves
teeth were set, which were protected by
the shoulders on each side of them.
These stems were made by hand with
g~reatlabor antl included various forms
Oh the same pr inciplc. Later on the in
vcntor adopted Il metal cylinder with
clliptical pcrfoi. ,tions in it's surface. In
these openings t ccti, were set so that the
points were dis. posed evenly with OF
slightly below the surface OF the open
ing. Then came the style of stem WHICH
is now in use, being constructed of a
metal envelope, the teeth being punched
out of the metal itself and being sur
rounded by an opening which guards
the teeth from coming in contact with
anything except it De tibrous. Very
clear and perfect cuts o. several of Ma
sons picking stems were published in
the April number of the Southern
Bivouac, together wi IN n very interesting
description of the VIII ole machine. The
teeth III the stems are punched by a
special machine constructed for the Dur-
pose by the Pratt and Whitney Compa-
ny, of Hartford, Conn. This machine
Is capable of punching four thousand
teeth Il minute, and cost the Mason Cot
ton Has stcr Company several thousand
dollars.
Having solved the problem of picking
out the cotton from the growing plants
without injury to plant, boil or blossom,
the inventor went to work TO apply the
to the plants Ny automatic
mechanism, SO that when the stems had
picked out the cotton from the bolls
they would mt the proper moment re-
lease it, so that it might be deposited in
sacks provided for the purpose.
Several different styles of machines
been constructed. The particular
style of machine which was exhibited at
work i'll the cotton field to-day is known
as "thc Radial Stem Machine" In n
strongly constructed frame of hickory
and ash are placed two pairs of cylin-
ders, from which radiate the picking
stems above described. The machine is
on two iron wheels similar to
used IL mowers and reapcrs. The
machine straddlcs the row of cotton
plants, the wheels passing along the
alleys. Therefore, as the machines move
forward through the field the cotton
plants pass backwards through the ma
chime between he two pairs of cylinders
mounted with the picking stems. The
cylinders are mounted ON vertical shafts
rotate backwards around their shafts
the same rate of speed as the machine
moves forward. The stems, being Jour
nailed into the cylinders, revolve back
wards with them Mt the same rate of
speed as he cotton plants move back
ward. Thus, when the machine starts
TO operate upon a row of cotton plants, the
which pull it enter tho alleys on
each SIDE OF the row, the stems begin to
revolve backward with the plants, and,
whlie they penetrate every part of the
bushes, they do not in any way jostle or
tear the plants. Now, in addition to the
backward movement of the stems with
the plants, they have an Independent,
rotation on their own axes
hrst III the direction of the points of
teeth, SO aS..to catch the cotton, and
as they pass out of the plant, in
reverse direction, SO as TO throw the
cotton oil by centrifugal force. When
the cotton Is thrown Oft it falls on q con-
Veyor, which conveys it to Il carrier belt,
winch n turn picks up the cotton and
1T over the back end of tho ma
Gimme into bags suspended in position to
receive 1t. When the bags are full they
are dropped and others are placed in po-
sltion. The machines arc so light and
the machinery moves SO easily that they
can be drawn by either one or two
horses. The use of two horses has been
found preferable, however, for tho rea-
son that they pull more evenly and
steadily.
While the machinery, in order to per-
form the work successfully, must be
with great care and exactness, yet
1T Is by no means complicated, nor easily
derar 9ed. The public, no doubt, think
that ne invention has been developed
very slowly. This, in n certain sense, is
true, but i'll addition to the natural diff.
culties which have beset the inventor at
every turn, il should be known that the
company has been again and again
by piratical attempts to inter-
tere with their patents. The
has, however, fought out every case,
I IN the patent Office and in the
courts, and the result has been that it
has won every case up to the present
time and has now a long list of patents
which cover so broadly everv ossont;ol