The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-18
RECOMMENDS THE BOX BALE.
Savannah Cotton Exchange Urges
Its AdoDtion

| VI Nne committee adopted by the cOnVCn-
ton of Interior Compress Association of
Carolina. Georgia, Alabama and Missis-
s!ppi on May r. 1898, and urge the plant
ers and ginners to adopt the 24xA press
box, and recommend that the necessary
alterations be made in time for the next
crop
The committees report, which was
adopted by the compress association and
from which the Morning News has printed
extracts, is as follows:
Your committee on improvement In cot
ton bale, beg leave to submit the follow
ing report:
We find. and It is generally admitted,
that the American cotton bale is now de-
livered at its final destination in a dirty.
uneven, ragged condition; and on account
of this condition, the cotton consumers
are discriminating against the American
cotton, thereby inflicting hardships and
! losses on the producers, and on all inter-
| ested in the cotton business. The cotton
| consumers are demanding and transport
tation companies are insisting, upon i'm
| provement, and we are now confronted
| with the necessity of devlsing means to
accomplish a uniform bale of cotton.
Your committee respectfully recommends
q
rectangular box of uniform size and so
| perfectly wrapped in stout bagging, and
| bound with strong ties that 1t will reach
I Its destination, where ever shipped, in a
good and clean condition.
Your committee in its efforts to determ-
inc what was advisable for 1t to recon-
mend, had its attention directed to the re-
| cent experiments in this agitation in
| Texas. II finds that the American Cotton
Growers Protective Association of Texas,
the Texas Compress Association, the
| State Cinuers Association of Texas, the
| Interior Texas Cotton Association, COM
| posed of buyers, producers and handlers,
| the Texas Cotton Exchanges, the Mari
| time Association of Galveston and New
| Orleans,are all recommending and urging
a uniform press box "A by "a.
Your committee naturally sought the
reason why this press box, "a by "a, had
been SO unanimously adopted, and follow
ing this line found from recent experiments
| completed by cOmpressers In Waco and
Temple, Texas, that cotton packed in
press boxes, measuring inside "a inches
| wide and 81 inch long, shows an average
| density, after compression in an ordinary
compress in the usual manner, and at the
| regular rate of speed of about forty
pounds to the cubic foot. The bales were
fully covered by the bagging, and were
in every respect perfect shipping pack
ages.
| EOAly pOuIlQS 10 lHS CUBIC IOOI 1S lnS
greatest average density ever gotten out
j by any compress process Whatever, not
I excepting even India and Egypt. Density
cheapens ocean freight rates, and IL the
glnners will make their compress boxes "A
inches wide, and "a inches long inside
measurement, they will turn out a bale
that will be handled in the usual manner
and shipped abroad at lower freight rate
than any other size package yet produc-
ed. 1t was not apparent on the face of
1t why so slight an alteration in the size
of the bale should make so great a differ
ence in It's density but the mathematical
demonstration is, after all, quite simple
The records of the Maritime Association
at Galveston, Tex, show that bales made
is Is by 5s-inch boxes, after compression
and delivery at that port, average 30 by 81
| inches, giving a superficial area of 1884
square inches, whereas the bale made in
boxes "A by 81 inches average at Calves
ton &c by Sc inches or ass square inches
| The pressure of the compress in
both cases Is the same, namely, 1900 tons,
or 3,6000O0 pounds on the bale; therefore,
by dividing the area of the bale in inches
into the pressure in pounds, we find that
there Is 65S pounds greater pressure per
square inch on the smaller bale than on
the larger one. The remarkable increase in
density produces no increase whatever Of
strain on the gin press boxes or machin-
cry, as is demonstrated by the fact that
Texas was turned out by boxes which had
been used the entire past season in max
ing bales IS by So inches, and no altera-
ton whatever was made In them, except
to line them up with 2-inch planks, and
cut down the fellow blocks, nor was any
additional steam used The Sierra Steam
ship Company out of Galveston, Texas, for
| Harvard, made a rate on quantity of this
cotton of Is cents per hundred pounds,
against Il rate Of 46 cents per hundred
pounds for cotton pressed In the old style
| boxes, a difference in favor of the "a by
54-inch boxes of IS cents per hundred
pounds, which means about 95 cents per
bale. This saving in favor of the "a by "a
inch boxes, would amount to, approx
mateIy, $l1,OC0,O00 to the farmers Of the
South on the present cotton crop To con-
form with this standard, however, the av-
erage weight of the bale would have to be
| reduced somewhat, and the farmer would
have to bring less seed cotton TO the gin
ner to make bale, as the ginners will be
reluctant to change their boxes unless they
feel assured that this will be done. If Tex
as cotton averaging 567 pounds per bale,
can be packed in a box "A by "a inches our
cotton averaging 800 pounds can certainly
be packed in the same size box without any
extra strain on the ginners' press boxes or
machinery
Your committee also finds that by exact
demonstration at a compress, that a bale
packed in a gin box size "A by 81 and JIG
inches in depth, weighing, say 500 pounds,
will measure IN the jaws of the
compress 10 by Is by SO inches After Il
is released from The press it will mea s.
ure If lightly ted "A by 25 by s. inches.
expanding only four inches In depth A
bate of the same weight, packed IN a gin
box q by 50 by 1l6 inches, VIII expand
after coming out of the compress ten
inches or more In depth on account of in
ability OF bands to hold it in original COM
pressed condition, the width being too
great as compared with the thickness.
Could a bale be made an oblong square
while in the jaws of the press il could be
tied and held to a density of sixty pounds.
but this form Of baling, with the pres.
ont gin boxes, is not practicable How
ever, the nearer a bale can be made an
obiong square the better will be the re-
suit.
1t has been found In actual practice that
"a by 81 by JIG inches win suit all parties
the ginners' box can be made 10 make this
form of package at but small expense;
farm wagons can transport ii without
damage by rubbing on wheels; the bag.
ging when The bale has been compressed