The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-12-07
REMEDY FOR Low COTTON
Plan Tried In South Carolina, With
Excellent Results.

|
REMEDY FOR LOW COTTON
Plan Tried In south Carolina, With
Excellent Results.
| Guthrie, o. T. Dec. 6.-The New York
Sun publishes the following, which will
be interesting to cotton growers in Okla
homa- 1t is a very Instructive letter from
Edgefield, S. c., giving an account OF the
methods of handling the cotton crop at
that place so as to get out of it its full
| capabilities and value. The writer says:
Seven years ago the Edgefeld Manufac-
turing company established n modest
way a public ginnery, fertilizer factory
and an oil mill, all in one building. In
this way it utilized the seed, which con-
stitutes in weight two thirds of the crop
Recently it has put UP anorher building
alongside the original factory, and in this
new building It has placed spindles and
looms. Thus among the cotton fields in
one establishment there are the four pri-
mary processes-a gin, an oil mill, a fertil-
izer plant, and a cotton mill. The oil is
not turned into olive oil on the spot. or
into butter, nor do the spindles turn out
fine yarns, but the Bdgefield plant VIII do
as a beginning of an industrial revolu-
ton.
The unique feature of the edsefield plant
consists in the fact that seed cotton, in
stead of lint cotton, is considered in 1t
raw material. Lint cotton is rarely
manufactured article. The raw material
has been through a mill-a g1nnery. 1t is
pressed and baaed. Edgefield deals with
the product Of the fertile fields all about
il, taking the raw material directly from
the farmers built-up wagon. The seed
cotton is purchased directly from the far
mers as they bring 1t in. II comes direct
ly from the fields. It may have been in
the bol!s a few hours before. 1t is I'M
tomatically unloaded, going directly to
the gins. The seeds are automatically car
ried either to the large seed etoreass
house or to the oil mill. II to the latter
they are at once freed from all dirt and
other foreign matter, and are reginned in
order to secure the short lint left by the
first ginning. The seeds are then passed
along TO the machine for removing the
huls These hulls are either stored in
bulk to be sold as food for cattle or baled
for shipment or mixed elsewhere in the
mill with cotton seed meal thus forming
admira bic cattle food. After the hulls
have been removed the kernels are passed
through heavy chilled rolls. for the pur-
pose of crushing the oil cells, and then
the mass is placed in the heaters, where
it is stirred and cooked by steam. The
cooked material is then formed into cakes,
and the oil Is forced from them in power
full hydraulic presses.
10 hot iS of aft
ton of the oil is then ground. becoming
an article of commerce known as cotton
seed meal This meal is sold at Edgefeld
for the feeding of cattle or for fertilizing
purposes. 1t is excellent just as it comes
from the grinder for either purpose; but
the edgefield plant, in following out its
general design of converting all products
into their ultimate form of usefulness.
prefers either to mix the meal with hulls,
thus forming an excellent article for feed
ing purposes, or else to carry the meal 10
the fertilizer mill, where it is manipulate
ed into various brands of fertilizers suit
able to various soils and crops
Having followed the seed to its ultimate
forms, ii is time to return to the lint as
it came from the gins. Usually at this
point it is packed into bales, to be hauled
over poor roads and shipped and reshipepd
and recompressed and rubbed and covered
with dirt and filled with rains and torn
and damaged before its arrival at the cot
ton mill. which may be in Japan OF in the
heart of Russia. Wherever il is, the fibre
is crushed and matted to such an extent
that several processes of beating and loos-
ening become necessary before it is ready
for the spindles. In the Edgefeld plant
all the processes between ginning and
cloth making are eliminated, the loose
lint being in condition to go automatically
60 the lappers in the cotton mill Not
only are the middlemen in the handling of
the cotton eliminated, but so are middle
machines. The cotton mill of the Edge
field plant contains 5000 spindles and 80
looms with room for twice these num-
bers The entire plant is now in full Op-
Grafton Its chief desire is to produce
goods that can be marketed at home. Its
hulls and meal, mixed or single, its fertil-
izers and its Palmetto sheetings stamped
with the tree that IS the emblem OF the
state. are all sold at home. If its oil were
turned into refined lard and other prod
ucts on the spot, instead of at Chicago.
every part of the crop grown at home
would he consumed at home. The man
ayers of the mill Will doubtless reach this
stage at no distant date.
The seed cotton carried to the Edgefield
mill is no longer five-cent cotton. The
bale Of cotton is worth at Edgeield AZ
cents a pound, or about $3.50. The seed,
LOCO pounds, IS worth S ton. or &c. max
ing $3.50 the utmost sum the cotton is
worn to the community when marketed
in the customary manner. At Edgefield
the ! 500 pounds. of seed cotton become:
$500 yards of sheeting at % cents. .s72oo
% gallons crude oil a Il cents...-.... 80
500 pounds OF feed or fertilizer.-...... 500
Total --..-.----. ....--..-.--''.-.--.'--'S 'S-se
This Is equivalent TO ls-cent cotton in
one respect. but TO the community il IS
much better han 16-cent cotton, because
Il involves more labor. more skill and
more diversity OF production.
The EdEede!d mill makes a point in
the evolution OF cotton handling. Il Is a
STAGE toward ultimate products. When a
southern mill turns the lint into thread or
c,o- hing needed in the south ard the seed
into food for the people IL the south and
fed for southern cattle and fertilizers
for southern soil. and the balance % the
plant into paper Tor southern consunp-
ton. ;hen tine Edgeheld evolution VII
have run It's course
Sealed Proposals for the Constructio
offender Sidewalks.
CITY Clerks Office,
Wichita Kan. Dec 5. 1S9S