The Van Buren press., 1897-08-07
Ginning Cotton.


There was a meeting of ginners OF
cotton at Waco, Texas. some weeks
since. The fact was recognized that
great changes are pending in this bust
ness. The handling of cotton is on the
eve of being revolutionized-inde it is
here now The round bale, compressed
into bats of cotton, wound around like
threads on spool, has evidently come
to stay. The seed cotton is fed into the
gin from which it comes forth broad
heavy bat of cotton which is immedi-
ately received and thickened up into a
bat forty eight inches wide and some
ten inches thick These bats come forth
rapidly in a solid mass, exhibiting more
smoothly and evenly laid fbres than the
cotton as ordinarily put up. With the
fibres in this improved condition, max
ing the cotton so much easier to handle
at the mills and more valuable, the bat
rapidly passes through compression
roller, whereby by excluding the air
fourth of an inch, thus laying the fibres
smooth and straight and COMPRISING
the cotton without the least injury to
the fibre. The whole process, we are
assured, is as simple as the action of a
clothes wringer The wrapping of this
new bale is of cotton cloth. There is
no strain upon the bale wound lap by
lap it is self binding -eonsequently no
ties are required, the light wrapping
being necessary only to keep the end of
the bat from unrolling and to protect
the cotton from waste and damage.
The American Cotton Company, ex
hibiting one of their presses at Waco,
showed bale that was pressed last
December. The Cotton Ginner Jour
nal thus describes it:
1t was chopped in two with an ak and
looked like a log of wood 1t had been
standing without any wrapping upon it
from December until that day-six
months -showing that no wrapping
whatever was necessary to prevent ex-
pansion. In the plain view of all,
chunks were cut out of the solid end as
though it were piece of pine wood.
when all We're satisfied that it was
about like a log of wood, small por
ton of the bat was unrolled and the bale
thrown into the air repeatedly, with a
rotary motion, and the bat unrolled as
readily rs though it were spool of rib
bon, and this was continued until the
cotton unrolled clear to the core. AS
soon as released the tightly pressed bat
loosened up or tiutfed out and an exam
nation of the cotton by the cotton men
present showed that it was uninjured in
} every respect by its six months com
preston to a density of certainly forty
pounds per cubic foot. Meanwhile the
bale that had been sampled had had a
rod driven through it and was swung
; up in plain view of all, and then, just
as rapidly as it could be revolved, the
bat rolled off unbroken clear down to
the center. 1t was explained that the
company guaranteed this in every case
Z that there was absolutely no truth in
= the reports that the bales made on their
new presses gave any trouble in unroll-
ing
The Journal adds:
Mr.. Ball then explained that having
thoroughly refuted everything that had
: been said as to the non sampling and
nun nnrolling of the bale, they would
now show that it would not burn. A
bale was then rolled off the platform
and out into the yard and placed upon
supports several inches from the
f ground, and those present were invited
to set it on fire with matches, cigarettes
or by allowing sparks to fall upon it.
After number of attempts it was
, quickly seen that this had about the
same effect upon the bale as though il
had been log of hard wood.
Insurance men present stated they
were satisfied that the bale was practi-
But further test was made. The
Journal says of it:
The bagging was cut and slashed and
the cotton thrown back, a lot of paper
and kindling piled around and under the
bale, and quantity of coal oil poured
over everything and set fire to after one
end had been torn open and prodded.
The wood and coal oil blazed fiercely
and everybody stepped back quite a
distance, but in a few minutes it was
evident that the fire would not even
reach the end of the bale where they
had not placed sufficient kindling. AT
the end of ten minutes prominent in
surance man present suggested that as
they were all thoroughly convinced that
the bale would not burn if let alone, and
as the fire was rapidly dying out, the
wood and coal oil having burned out,
that he would like to see what an ex
tinguisher would do ON the remnants of
fire left. One was brought, and in a
few moments after turning it on the
bale the latter was rolled over and the
layer of charred cotton removed. and
the clean, perfect bale stood just as be
fore the fire, ready to be re wrapped
and with but trivial loss. The test
was thorough, absolute and convincing
for certainly in practical handling no
bale would have to go through so severe
a test
This new manner of handling cotton
will do away with the old time cotton
gin, the bagging and ties and the cum
bersome and expensive compress.