The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-02-02
HOW TO BALE COTTON.
Present Method wasteful, and New One
is Sought
Washington Post.

ment OF COTTON DaiDS anu cOttOn nreS.
No port in the world receives so much
American cotton as Liverpool. Tho
annual importations there for nun-
ber Of years past have amounted to
about 3, 100000 just at present the
American exporters os cotton and the
English importers Of that commodity
are discussing the best methods Of
baling, and they are seeking TO agree
upon some improved method of doing
this work.
Consul Boyle writes as follows up
On this matter:
Recently ,on invitation Of the Euro
pesn representative Of the American
Cotton Company, who control the
cylindrical bale system, inspected q
shipment Of cotton balcd by them.
The bales were received at the ware
house in perfect condition, and l
learned that there was no loose cotton
in the hold of the ship from these
bales, nor was there q single case of
"no Marks One of the most an
noying features of the old system of
baling is that the jute covering of
number of the bales becomes 80 torn
that marks indicating the place Of
origin, the quality and the consignee
arc absolutely undecipherablc. Some
times the percentage Of mo marks is
| as high as per cent. Of the total car
go. Under the rule ef tho Liverpool
cotton trade the mo mark bales are
divided pro rata among the various
consignces of the entire cargo. The
loose cotton foHnd in the hold Of the
ship and in the ware house consc
quent upon handling is also divided in
this manner.
"As may be easily imagined, this
system, while the best possible under
the circumstances, is often very un-
satisfactory, and especially 80 when
cotton below sample is among the mo
mark bales. 1t is noted here that
|
started an agitation for an improve
ment in the baling of cotton, but it
must be admitted that their grievance
is small one compared with that of
the British cotton brokers' and spin
ners. The coarse jute covering is
nearly always torn, and in large per-
centage Of the bales, one-third or one
half of the cotton is exposed, and
many of the bales have the covering
almost entirely off. Some Of the
bales are known as 'cauliAever heads,
because Of their likeness to huge
caulihowers. TAere is an enormous
loss both to the American shipper
and to the British consignee through
the present defective system of bal;ng,
as much of the cotton becomes loose,
and great deal Of the outside Of the
bales gets damaged. Cotton brokers,
spinncrs, insurance men and ship
owners here all unite in declaring the
urgent need of an improved system Of
baling. AS to whether the cylindri
cal bale fully meets the requirements
Of the trade am not prepared to say.
Certain it is, however, that the cylin-
dTicalIy -baled cotton consigned to
Liverpool arrived in perfect condition,
there not only being no losso cotton,
but not single case of no marks.
Fire on board ship or at the dock is
one Of the most serious enemies Of the
cotton exporting. trade. Mr. Boyle
says that there have been some very
damaging cotton frcs at the Liver
pool docks in times past, but the last
two years have been peculiarly fortun
ate ones in this respect. no fire of real
consequence having occurred. Gone
Of the strangest claims put forward in
behalf of the cylindrical bale" writes
the consul, rs that it is much less
likely to catch aud hold fire than the
old style American bale.' Some tests
have recently been made in Liverpool,
and the results Of them have upheld
this point.
The best method Of extinguishing
fire in cotton on board ship is also
considered by the consul. It is claim
ed that steam is superior to water for
this purpose, and the following article
from the Liverpool Daily Post is sub
mitted to show the results Of a practi-
cal experiment upon the point:
ssOn November 80 a fire was dis
covered to have broken out in the af-
terhola Of the Liverpool steamer Ben
croy, from Galveston, with cargo of
cotton, and was finally extingniahed
by the steamers own appliances at
minimum Of expense. The cirsum-
stances were somewhat unusual, and