The Republican journal., 1903-02-12
ing, form bolts of seed-pods. q These
burst and shed small seeds to which the

cember the crop is all harvested. From
the field the cotton in seed is separated
by gin composed of series of circu-
lar saws, enclosed in a box. Previous
to the invention of the gin by Eli
Whitney the seed was separated by
hand, which was long and tedious
task. At the gins, generally worked by
steam, are presses by which the cotton
is pressed into bales Of about $50 pounds
each, and bound with bands Of iron, Cal
led cotton ties. The railroads and steam
boats bring the crop to New Orleans,
some of the river-boats carrying as
many as 5000 bales at a single load
One of the interesting sights of the city
is to watch the landing of these Mis-
sissippi boats and see the cotton rolled
ashore. Then in the late afternoon
many boats are loaded with general
merchandise by the negro levee hands,
who sing gaily at their work,-music-
ally, if not elegantly.
All the export cotton is further com
pressed by powerful machinery into
bales hardly third the size of the orlgl-
nal; so that a ship can stow nearly three
times as many of the compressed bales
as of the larger ones. For this service
the shipper pays about 40 cents per bale.
There are twenty five or more OF these
compressors in the city and it is a curl
Gus sight to see these steam giants, with
their strong arms, at work. The bale
is seized by stout negroes, rolled into the
compress, and squeezed by it with
demoniac like Kissing sound. The iron
bands, or ties, are frightened and then
this iron giant lets go its victim with
gasp. Woe be to any colored citizen
who gets caught inside the jaws. He
wouldn't come out much thicker than
a sheet of writing paper. 10 show to
what an extent every part of the pro-
duct is utilized, l am told that in addi-
ton to cotton seed oil and the oil cake
which is exported for cattle feed, soap
is made from the residuum OF the
oil: the hulls are sometimes used for
paper stock, also for fuel to run the
works. and even the ashes make good
fertilizer. The greater part of this Oil,
by the way is shipped to Europe, there
refined and sent back to America
after being mixed with the crushings
of olives, as delicious French and
Italian sweet olive oil" So we are In
debted to our foreign neighbors for
other luxuries than the famous Mumm's
Extra Dry Champagnes, often made
in France" but previously made from
American grapes in old New ork
State.
This great city has fifteen miles OF
water front and docks for its extensive
commerce. almost the distance from
Belfast to Camden. At the landings
are mammoth New York liners, British
and German cotton-carriers, Central
American and West Indian packets,
American schooners loading naval
stores and other cargoes, river steam
ers heaped with cotton, ferry boats,
oyster boats and river 'luggers." 1t is
moving panorama all the time. Great
cargoes of bananas come in here every
week and are distributed by rail and
river to Chicago, st. Louis and all
points north Bananas are the only
things cheap i'll price that l have seen
here Two dozen good ones can be
bought for five cents. With this ex-
ception everything is in the air. Rents
are high because taxes are close to
three per cent and this means increased
cost Of every thing that is sold. Board
is high and none too good at that; and
still going higher as Mardi Gras APP
proaches. Rates more than double
during the festival. | had room on
Canal street at two dollars per day
which the landlady said would bring
her SIS per day during the carnival. |
have since moved out! All the hotels
are full already and boarding houses are
turning away people by scores. Surely
the Northerners are on the go this win
ter whether caused by surplus of
money or lack of coal, is a conun-
drum. Neither do the people here care,
so long as they come and spend their
money freely; and they simply have to
spend it freely. There is no other
course open. l visited the new St.
Charles Hotel last week, truly said to
be one of the finest in the land. 1t
has accommodations for one thousand
guests. The utmost of the luxury of
this sumptuous tavern that an ordi-
nary visitor can enjoy at present is to
buy an Havana cigar in the vestibule
and watch his more fortunate kinsmen
feasting in the cafe: for there have been
no rooms here available for the general
public during the past two or three
weeks.
Signs multiply of the approach of the
carnival season. 1t is the event of the
year. Natives talk of it and its gaieties;
strangers study its many phases and
endeavor to get themselves within the
inner ring, which is most difficult. For
many of the events preceding Mardi