The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-09-27
COTTON BAGGING.
successful Test of the Lane Mill
Product.
Experiments Prove the New Gov
erlug to be Superior to
Jute.
From the Times.Democrat.

At the Commercial cotton press yester-
day morning public test was given of
the cotton cloth made by the Lane cotton
mills to take the place of jute bsgging,
which, through the manipulations of the
bagging trust has been raised to an ex-
orbitant price. Last Tuesday evening
series of experiments were In with
three grades of the new bagging cloth,
and the coarsest of the samples proved
conclusively that cotton cloth could he
used for covering cottoL.
Mr.. Odenheimer, of the Lane mills, after
the private test, concluded that the cloth
would have to be made of a heavier grade,
and woven looser, so he at onceeset to
work to make heavier sample, which
was given public test yester day, and
proved satisfactory in every respect.
At 1890 O'Clock large concourse of
persons interested in cotton assembled at
the Commercial press to witness the trial.
Mr.. Ferdinand Goldsmith, one of the
proprietors of the Commercial press,
placed every facility at the disposal of
the experimeuters. Among the large
number of persons present were Gen. D.
G. Hazard, j. P. Dobbins and Charles E.
Levy, composing committee from the
cotton exchange, appointed to investigate
thoroughly the question of cotton cover
ing; also to formulate a uniform system
of boxing, COMPRISING and handling cot
ton, and to meet the various alliances OF
the states of Alabama, Mississippi and
Louisiana at Meridian, in joint eonven-
ton on the 18th of October.
The large concourse of persons were in
yited over to the Crescent cotton plckery
of Messrs. Kahn g. Gutmann, where three
l.oIo e 6oI1 f,pr IN
mills, had been sent. The employees of
the pickery went to work, and
STRIPPED THE BALES
and put the loose cotton up in bales, as is
the custom on plantations, covering each
bale with the new fabric, after which the
hands got to work on them with hooks
and moved them over to the scales.
Some one suggested that the best test
with cotton hook was to handle the cot
ton funcompressed, because the bale is
loose and more apt to give The men
hauled the cotton with their hooks, and
the covering did not tear. Each Of the
three bales we're weighed, fiat and side
ways, and the bales we're lifted and lowered
with terrible jerk, which had no effect
on the covering, not tear or rip being
visible.
Cotton weighers and scale hands de-
clared that jute covering could not stand
this test.
Mr.. Pat McGratb, weigher for Messrs.
Richardson g. May, who witnessed the tests
in the pickery, pronounced the fabric
serviceable bagging. He said it made a
nice package and easy to mark. In its
present state it was very good. And fur
'ther, he did not tn nix that it would absorb
water as quick as jute; however, he desired
to see it put to the water test. An I'M
portant requirement will be to get the
cotton roller TO take stock in this. When
a man is on the top of pile of cotton he
climbs down with the aid of his hooks,
and he will require the covering to be
strong enough to hang on, as he dQes this
with jute bagging.
These sug5e stions were carefully noted
by Mr.. Odenheiner and others, and each
was thoroughly carried through to the
satisfaction of all present, as will be seen
hereafter. The three bales of cotton
REACHED THE PREss-RooM
of the Commercial press. The press was
COMPRISING a list OF cotton for ship
ment on the French steamship Dupuy de
LONE. The three bales were jerked from
the dray by two powerful colored mon,
veteran knights of the cotton hook. the
bales we're of the ordinary size, one of
them weighing 553 pounds and measur-
ing feet inches in length by 2 feet 2
inches in in thickness and 3 feet inches
in height. These we're the figures at this
stage of the proceedings when they were
ready for the compress.
The cotton rollers here took few pulls
at the bales, jerking and tossing them
around, but withal they stood these tests,
the cotton roller said, better than the jute
bagging does.
The cotton soon reached the press,
which was carrying between 120 and l25
pounds of steam pressure, which gave q
COMPRISING power of 900 tone. This Is
the average pressure carried by the press,
being sufficient for all purposes.
30 The bales we're pressed and hoped and
rolled out. The bagging was closely ex-
amined and found perfect, each bale pre-
senting pretty appearance. Mr.. NC
Grath suggested that it was easy to sam
ple, and he cut bale. The committee
here went to work on the bale. Messrs.
Hazard, Lsvy and Dobbins tested lis
strength with a hook, and Messrs. Hazard
and Levy remarked that it was "hard to
tear" Mr.. Dobbins went further, and
pronounced the covering impossible to
tear"
A bale of cotton covered with two pound
lutte bagging was compared to the cotton
cloth as regards strength of the fabric
and the new article was found superior &c
the iute. Both bales were given test a.
tearing, and the jute gave larger open
ing than the cotton cloth.
Mr.. Morris Bayhi, weigher, and two
strong scale hands put the bales through
the weighing process, and the cotton GOV
cred bale stood the test of the hand ant
scale hooks superior to the jute bagging
Mr.. Bayhi, who has been cottol
weigher for the last twenty-five years
stated that he had subjected the thre
bales to as severe test as possible, an
that the cotton bsgging did not give
much as lutte. 1t is something unusual t
strip" bale of cotton-changiDg its pc
sition, handling it with hooks-and
stood that test better than jute.
Mr.. Ambrose Maginnis and Superln
tendent Elder, of the Maginnis mills, wer
present. Mr.. Msginnis being asked hi
opinion, said:
"The test is severe one and the resui
better than expected. think this ID Tn IN