Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1899-03-02
Ths RoundZ esotton Bsle.I

9 ssreY utl0n in the faeth de of pre-
pairing cotton tcr Tie SRI !. Tho
Constitution g Welcomes these signs,
FOR tits certainl time that such ii
revolution should be brought aboup,
In the history Of the world there is
no parallel to- the carelessness ana
consequent wastefulness with which
Invaluable crop has been prepsred
for the mark
In the first plaGe it has been wrap
ped in bagging, the fiber of which is
imported from the other side Of the
world, This fiber being Of a coarse
and inferior quality in every. way, is
usually in q state Of decay before it
is wrapped around the bale. The re- !;
cult is that for five generations.
moro than o hundred years "a very
large proportion of the cotton crop
has been permitted TO go to waste be-
tween the farm and it's final desti.,
nation. s}s "a & z s,ss 8, 81 4
In the second place, it has been
ginned and packed without reg ard to
grade or condition, so i that fifty
pounds, of inferior staple stamps the
whole bale as inferior. We repeat
that the history Of the worlds indus
tries will; show 10 parallel to the
Wanton carelessness with which the
most valuable and important crop of
o great section has been prepared for
market. Millions of dollars have
been thrown to the wind. Is rs
The signs of the revolution to
which we refer are t. be found in
the rapid development of the pow
process of baling cotton, by means of
which the staple is packed in oylind-
reoal form and is completely encased
from end to end in covering of est
ton cloth Of sufficient strength to pre-
vent all waste. This process does
away with jute bagging and ties.
+ The advantage to the farmer of
this round bale process may be very
briefly stated. a.
1t does away with the expense
known as tare, which amounts to
about 6 per cnut. A great many
farmers (and others, too, who should
know better) have an idea that whom
the producer sells his bale Of cotton
he receives back the price he has
paid for bagging ind ties. In point
OF fact this is very carefully deducted
by the purchaser. The price of cot
.toi is made iii Liverpool, and IIivoc- Iiivgo
pool buys nothing but the actual cot
ton, Therefore, about 6 per cent is
deducted from the weight Of ovoty
bale. But the deduction is made in
the price paid for cotton and amounts
to from SO to $3.50 a bale.
For instance, large cotton~buy-
ing firm in Georgia has pledged it.
self to pay do cents more for each
100 pounds Of cotton packed in the
round bale than for cotton packed in
the old square bale. This amounts
to 1925 on each 500 pounds, and
practically represents the tare that
would otherwise be collected on the
weight of bagging and ties. The
amount will go into the pocket of
the farmer instead of coming out of
it. What this firm proposed to do
other cotton buying firms will in the
end do, 80 that, packed in round,
compact bales, the cotton crop will
put into the pockets Of the farmer an
amount which in 10000, 0,00G-bale
crop will reach $2,250,000.
Another advantage will be the saw
ing of the large amount of cotton
which, under the old process, has
been annually blown to the four
winds. This waste has been and is
now enormous. AS cotton is money,
especially in the South, it may al
most be. said that our farmers nave
taken pains to throw it away. Their
oarelessness in handling and packing
the cotton is 80 pronounced and no
ticeable that it might almost be said
TO be deliberately premeditated.
There is still another advantage
which, in the end, may have E very
Important effect on the price of cot
ton. The round bales are covered
with cotton cloth, and will, therefore
add considerably to the consumption
of the rev material. The round bale
will, in fact, not only add to the price
Of cotton directly by doing away
with the 6 per cent. tare exacted at
Liverpool, but Indirectly by creating
a new demand for the staple to weave
into coverings. Already mills are
offering quarter of q cent a pound
more for cotton pressed in round
bales. They can afford to do this
because the round bales are easier to
bnudla onI atnro onJ tbo o4oS.1o =.