The sun., 1901-03-17
COTTON GINNING.
Interesting Facts Collected for the First Time
nv the Census Bureau.

The census bulletins have thus far been
devoted 10 the statistics Of our population
This branch ~ the work is now completed
and with Bulletin IS tho publication OF in
dusrial facts has begun This bulletin
is devoted to cotton ginning and is the first
report Of its kind ever made by a United
States census. The reason for this innova-
tion in our methods Of collecting the statistics
OF cotton production Ia interesting
For many years practically the entire
cotton crop reeChed the markets through
tho transportation lines. The result was
that close approximation 70 the actual crop
was obtained from tho returns Of these
carriers In recent years, however, there
has been a rapid development of cotton
manufacture by mills situated near cotton
fields, Many thousands Of bales that never
touch a transportation limo are consumed
by these mills in the South which in $40 manu-
factured l26 per cent. of the total crop and
500 per cent. ~ tho total American con-
sumption. A 1t is no longer possible % get
an idea Of the amount OF the crop from the
returns Of the transportation Rnes the last
census has collected the Statistics OF the
amount Of cotton ahmed.
OF course everybody knows that prior 10
the invention OF the cotton gin by iii Whit
ury i'm l5M the separation OF the seed from
being four pounds Of Int cotton per week
for each hend of a family. working az night
in addition 10 the usual field work. II took
one person two years to turn out the quantity
of cotton contained in one average standard
bale Al the present time one ma, hine will
gin from three 70 fifteen bales rer day
Thus one machine does the work ~ thop-
snnds Of men In 1850 before the cotton gin
was dreamed OF. our production was ssSg
bales OF average weight Of 225 pounds In
ISga the production was q s.S YpI bales of nm
nv aarn " ~ ff late
statistics were obtained by collecting the
amount Of cotton ginned
The report shows clearly the important
changes thlthaveoccurred in the areas Of cot
ton production Stimulated by tho high
prices following the C,r War the cultivation
Of cotton was conducted 20 some oKton, in
and West Virginia With the adv on' Of low
prices cotton culture Gradualy disappeared
II The loss in the States lying along the
northern border Of the cotton belt is how
ev"r moro th9n Offset hv the increased pro-
duCtiou in the territory west and southwest OF
the cn'Irc AmHroan crop WIS grown in that
region. In iNua, the same territory produced
10 per cent Of the whole crop. This increase
is practically confined 10 Texas, the Indian
Territory and oklahoma. IeNns alone pro-
duced ~ per cent. Of the entire cotton crop
being Grst in the lst Of couon-producing
states her nearest competitors being Georgia
and n, M,s'sSr'GRi raCh , Of wh'Ch produced -:
Indian Lcrrltorv has grown in ten years from
8Ili5 hAlol 10 l43 COS hllcs and that Of Okla
hOmn from A25 ia -lQs3 hales
While the increase In the culture Of Sea Isl
and cotton has not been so rapid ~ that ~
upond cotton, the rpCrn' progress in the
PRODUCTION Of this long staple. tho finest IN
the world, is noteworthy. u was believed
for n long time thar The Islands N the coust
Of South Carolina possessed natural monuu-
DIV Of tho production of the finest or this cot
ton but II has been found th't n good grndo
can be grown IN some Georgia counties con-
IL ,1,. al tl.a
number OF bales Of Sen Island cotton pro-
ducod IN 1900 was a7.27a.
The bulletin contains the statistics of cot
ton production by counties IN all the cotton
States