The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1891-11-14
THE COTTON BALlNe PROBLEM.

THE COTTON BALING PROBLEM.
Planters declare that there Is no
money in cotton at the prices
which have prevailed in recent
years. AS the worlds crlp in an
nually greater than the worlds
absolute need, there is no reason TO
expect that the range Of prices will
go higher in the future than in the
past.
Manual labor viii not get any
cheaper for the tendency there is
ever towards an increase. Labor
saving machinery may b. intro
duced however, and by reducing
the cost of production and prepara-
tion for market enable the planter
10 net more for his crop.
One mildlemau, the factor, is
gradually disappearing from the
cotton trade. Exp lrters and domes-
tic spinners send their agents into
the country and buy direct from
the country merchant, whereas
their universal practice il the past
was to buy from the city merchant
or seaport factor. The factors ad-
nit that their oc 'upation is gong.
A few here and there enjoy special
arrangements with the railroad
which give them an advantage
over exporters, or at least put
them on an equal footing with
him. But the middleman known as
the factor is disappearing.
Now there Is another middle
man Who will eventually disappear,
and he Is the hydraulic compress
own r. Cotton is packed twice
now. 1t is first made into the cum
bersome plantation bale and that
goes to the powerful compress and
is reduced ouch Alf in bulk. Many
active brains and sKilltul hands
have endeavored to save this extra
handling of the b lie and make the
cOmpressing reduce it to the smaller
size. The difficulty has been that
not enough power could be oh
tained at the country gin to com
press 500 pounds OF cotton into 4
bale OF Lass than fifty cubic feet
while the raillOaGs and ships de
mand fise-hundred-pound bale o
twenty-five cubic feet or less.
A year rtwo ag J, a Texas groceI
of inveative mind hit upon a prin
ciple which solved the problem
and enables the ginner to make :
bale as small as the bale turue
ont by the powerful congresses
and Of greater density and at les
expense than tho plantation bah
is made. This does away with th'
big congresses at one stroke. It'll
estima,el that the invention vii
save directly to the planter from
one dollar to two dollars and a hal
per bale, and to the south from
seven million to twenty million
dollars year, or to Georgia,
planters from one million to TIVE
million five hundred thousand dol
lars annually. The process, which ii
simple in principle, congresses tn
cotton as it is ginnei 10y passing
it between rollers and making !
into a web which is layed laye
upon layer in the bale. The air AM
elasticity are thus eliminated il
large part before the pressure j
exerted on the bulk. TIL
process makes a bale OF uniforI
size and of n density of twenty-five
pounds to the cubic foot. This pr'
cess requires no more power tina
ia nsed in making the plantat'o
b lie, hence the cost IS no greatei
and AS matter of fact it is less.
When hale is turned out b.
this process it is ready to be load
ed on car and carried through /
Manchester. The plantation baI
has t., bs CARED to distant con
press, uuIcaied, pressed into
smaller bulk, reloaded and haul