The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-10-24
PICKING COTTON BY MACHINERY.
A Practical Field Test of The Macon Cot
ton Harvester-It Works Like Charm.

1t will be gratifying to the stock
holders and others interested IN
the success of the Mason Cotton
Harvester to learn that since the
completion ofthe contract between
the Mason Cotton Harvester Com
pany and the Chattanooga Agri-
cultural Works for the latter COM
panv has tested one of the machines
near Rome, Ga, with highly salts
factory results. The Rome Trl-
bune in reporting the result of the
trial on last Friday says:
"A very interesting trial OF one
of the Mason cotton haryesters was
made yesterday at Mr.. Strains
field, about three miles from the
city, which satisfied every one who
saw the machine at work that the
problem of picking cotton by ma
chine.y has been satisfactorily
solved.
:'The Mason Cotton Harvester
Company, of South Carolina, has
recently made contract with the
Chattanooga Agricultural Works,
of Chattanooga, Tenn, under which
the machines will be mannfac'
tured in large numbers for tha
market, and the trial yesterday was
not so much an exhibition ol
what the machines can do as it was
an illustration of the principle OF
the machine for the benefit of the
superintendent of the Chattanooga
Agricultural Works.
Before going into the whole:
sale manufacture of the machines,
it was desired that those who
were to have charge Of the work
should thoroughly posted as to the
effect Of certain different arrange
mentS of the picking mechanism.
The picking stems, as they are
are called, were arranged in several
different ways. and all the doubt
full points were satisfactorily ex-
hibited. Mr.. Pratt, the superin-
tendent of the Chattanooga Asgrl-
cultural Works. who had aever
seen the machine at work, gave
personal attention to the tests, and
when the trial was completed he
| expressed himself thoroughly salts
fed that the problem had been
solved, and that it only now re-
mained to get the machines out in
good shape, and in quantities spfl-
cient to supply the immense de-
mand. Of course, the first ma
chimes will find the readiest sale in
Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and
Arkansas. where the labor is in.
adequate to meet the demand of
the planters during the cotton
picking season, where a large per-
centage of the cotton is lost purely
from the inability Of the planters to
get it picked.
''Mr. John P. Richardson, who is
the largest cotton planter in the
South, and sho has seen the Mason
machine a6 work, say she estimate
they will save on his plantation
over S30,00c a year. Mr.. Rich-
ardson is also president Of the
Chattanooga Agricultural Works,
where the machines, although re-
quired to perform much delicate
work, are perfectly simple and
can be used in any place where a
mower could be used. The essen
tiai feature Of the machine is the
picking finger, several hundreds o.
which are in each frame. These
fingers are so contracted as TO
possess, as it were, the sense OF
touch, and with almost human in
telligence they discriminate be-
tween the open and unopen cotton
and the bolls, blooms and foliage
of the plant. This peculiar dis
eliminating quality possessed by
the stem is due to the use Of teeth
so guarded and protected, on all
sides that the points of teeth can
come in contact with only a fbrous
substance. Consequently in n'passing
through the plants they catch the
open cotton and pass by the un=
open bo!ls and foliage of the
bushes.
Having completed the expert
ments the machine has been shipped
back to Chattanooga and the gen
tleman who came with it left also
for Chattanooga yesterday after
noon.
"Among those who witnessed the
trial Of the machine yesterday were
Col. Sam Morgan, Mr.. George Bat
tey and others. There was but one
opinion expressed by all who were
present at the test, and that was
that the picking Of cotton by ma:
chinery can no longer be classed
among the ilnpossiGilities, or as
Mr.. Battey remarked, / now hes
lieve that cotton picking can be
done without eyes (human.J "
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