St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-12-23
INJURIES TO COTTON by GIN.
MING AND PACKING.

AIZO " 010O 4 ~ W. = = ~AO - - ~AAND 1
MING AND PACKING.
It goes without saying that raw
cotton b treated In . mos: reckless
masler. mot only in the gathering. |
but in the ginning and packing. |
It u we'll known that cotton hbers
are extremely tender; the mean |
diameter Of the fiber measures from
l.lls5 up to l.l5e2 Of An inch, in
other words it takes from l20, 900, :
600 to 40, 900, 900 to weigh 1000
grains. One fiber weighs only
10000 part Of . grain, therefore,
one can readily perceive that very
careful treatment Is most desirable
in the different processes, but, on
the contrary, It meets with 90 much
torture from the moment it blooms
into maturity on the cotton planta-
ton, al through, by submerged
river boats or railway carriage,
until it is dumped down on the floor
| Of cotton mill, that it seems Is il
al combined to get rid Of an evil
spirit. Ginned cotton when wet,
or even in anything like . moist
condition, proves the greatest
trouble that IN unfortunate carder
has to contend with. It Is all very
we'll to preach patience, but not
easy for . distracted man to prac-
tice 1t, when, after having his ma
chinery, that has previously been
giving ample satisfaction and COM
fort. disorganized, he finds his best
efforts rendered null and void BY .
brand Of cotton, such - We have
described, licking up the cylinder
and otherwise bafiing every At
tempt to deal With it. Few but
those who have to suffer knew the
difficulties. and, Of course, the
carder becomes the scape-goat,
until his life Is scarely worth living.
This system Of things has gone on
from the far-away past to the pres.
ent. Operatives have . very ex-
pressive slang dictionary Of their
own in which alone they can give
vent to their feelings. Why should
nearly . century Of improvements
have passed and leave us still
almost where We began? What is
the use Of improving the carding
and spinning maohinesy-the tail
almost Of the manipulation when
the head and front Of the offending
element are almost improved back
wards" The one word "saw" in
connection With the initial process
Il quite sufficient to indicate the
usage this delicate fiber receives,
apart from al other loose practices.
Here We have. ct the very flrst step,
the destruction OF natures git to
cotton-the twist; 1t vanishes the
the moment the saw 10 applied.
On the very same principle that the
twist can be rubbed out Of . thread
or piece Of twins by friction, 90 Is
cotton fiber ill-used, torn and out,
particularly when damp, but who
cares-''suficent for the day Is the
eyil thereof" "Get it awsy!"
Liverpool must see to it," What
care we! Let rs fairly and squarely
grasp the condition Of things. Cot
ton baled damp and probably hav-
ing to lie for . considerable time
here and there, will when opened.
be lumpy.-matted and miliewed-
q precious state Of fiber from which
to make decent fabrics, prosecuting
every individual that has to handle
lit, sending weavers home i'll. and
causing the discharge Of first~class
finishers. It would not be far
fetched to say that cotton in this
condition inst diminishes one
quarter Of iss weights very econ
omical idea OF business paying .
certain price per pound Of Is
ounces and getting only 4 ounces
for actual use, and IL. rs often is
the case, the material is short in the
!, | fiber and the windows OF the blow
ing room are accidenty opened, it
win ny away to where it came from.
The United States spinners and
manufacturer are loud In their
complaints Of the rubbish, miscalled
cotton, which they have to contend
with. 90 that our grievances in this
respect are not without . real
foundation, but, there il no doubt,
We get the worst samples.
II In the packing process the fbers