Evening journal., 1901-04-23
THESE MONKEYS
PICK COTTON
HOWa South Carolina Planter
Taught Them
USED PEANUTS AS PERSUASIVE
Ills Novel Manner Of Causing The
Boss Monkey TO Retain His
Red Cap
USED PEANUTS As PERSUASIVE

Long. very long before the South in
creased her acreage in the production
Of cotton from a modest one million
bales per annum to the colossal nineI
million bales Of last year. the best cot
ton picking machine then as now is the
deft. mobile thumb and fore-fnger of
the negro. Nothing can gainsay the
power, ths adaptability, the cunning
shift of the wondrOus mechanism OF
the human hand. which as Professor
Agassiz once said, surpasses all the
combined Inventions of the worlds
shrewdest guessers since time started
and proclaiming to the uttermost ends
Of the earth, Gods power and match
less mechanical ability.
In the matter of cotton picking thsre
have been invented OF late years ma
chimes that have an automatic move
ment similar to that Of the human
hand, but the discrimination between
ripe and unripe cotton was wanting as
the guant metallic fingers in passing
along the rows would grasp all alike,
and so cotton picking machines did
not, for this reason, succeed. A year
or so ago a South Carolina planter
conceived the idea of utilizing the al
most human hand Of the monkey in
obtaining his issuccessivec crops Of cotton
The ileld hands Of ante-bellum days
had In turn become planters and now
needed help themselves. SO he got
perhaps half a dozen small Brazilian
monkeys. Obtaining Of them was no
small matter to start with. However,
LAT length he got the six chatetring Dar-
winians. The problem presented itself
hcw TO turn them to that degree uf
perfection to cause them to discrimi-
nate between the ripe and unripe cot
ton, and also keep steadily at work.
For a long time nothing presented it.
self that would even approximate the
desired result. AT length a thought
struck the planter Why not pandsr
20 the well-Known taste OF the mon
key for peanuts, by placing peanuts in
the cotton balls and starting the Sim
lans after them? After awhile the
plan took shape. The quick perception
of the little animals soon enabled him
TO train them in picking out the ripe
cotton in search of the peanuts while
the unripe. in which no nuts were
placed, was invariably left alone. Grad.
uaNy, as the peanuts were unearthed
tbs search for them became more dill
gent and as q fnality each monkey
could pick easily 300 pounds OF cottor
per day, thus doubling the best DAYS
work OF skillful human pickers whose
loutput would rarely exceed $50 pounds
But the monkeys were disposed al
times to play and run about the field
80 that a boss became necessary. Sc.
lccting one OF the largest, for remem-
her an undersized boss never can oh.
tain the same discipline that a big fel.
low can, the question arose how TO pro.
mote one. Getting a red cap the planter
placed 1t on the head OF the monkey
/ selected and started him every morn
ing at the head, the others following
For a little while this worked all righ
but ut times the boss took notion
% play too. and throwing away his reg
cap, mingled in common with the rest
i and this ended all discipline.
! Nothing daunted. the planter resolved
upon severe measures to cause tn
boss monkey to retain hiS cap. To tha
end he covered his bOss-ship's hea,
with mOlasses and very soon swarm
OF flies feasted on monkey and mo
lasses. In agony he tore about tn
place until the planted restored tn
cap, when accepting the situation tn
MASTER mindful Of the flies and torture
dutilully led the procession up an
down the long rows Of cotton with tn
sun pouring down in hot breaths. pick
ing Gotten in the abstract but reall
searching for the TEN ting peanut
now long since vanirhcl rom the bulb.
and TO the planter sap cme satisfac
ton, turning in y ia tx monkey.
j. l,S00 pounds OF ripe cotton eaca day
thus breaking all records for this mos
important work in the vast cOttO
belt OF the South. Dixie.