The news & observer., 1905-10-22

fixed upon the nero OF the Cotton
Picker"
Nov, gentlemen and ladies, please
face to the east and cast your eyes
over into that cotton patch and you'll
see the machine at work" Fifty pairs
of eyes caught sight Of the machine
at the same instant, and fifty voices
said in a breath-"Why that's a mig
ger." And then somebody said some
thing about fighting, but the majority
said it was nothing but good natured
joke; and the niger, all unconscious
of the part he was acting, went on
picking out cotton, while the crowd
that had been sold, sought lemonade
stands to cool off, and to mediate up
on the rascality that prompts the per-
tpetrattion of sells.
But We are to have sure enough
Cotton Picker-a machine that will
pick out two bales of cotton day. and
not more than half work.
/ knew it was bound to come for,
cotton is king. and always will be, and
the kings business must be attended
to- Since Booker Washington put it
into the heads of the old time cotton
pickers to aspire to the professions,
10 politics and social equality, the
problem~has been, how shall the cot
ton be picked? The cotton picker is
the solution. and if it does what they
claim for it. who cares whether sam
bo studies law Or physics, runs for
Congress or aspires to be President.
If the cotton can be picked out that
settles a Big question, that has been
giving the South trouble.
Well soon have steam ploWs an
the mule and bull yearling can go to
grass because as against steam,
they'd be too slow; and every body
knows that steam, in the long run,
would be cheaper power than they.
rhen our steam plows are to have
,ulky attachments, so that the ploW
boy may ride under q big umbrella
md study his spelling lesson as his
plow glides along, at the rate OF ten
miles an hour.
We have harvessers that will cut the
corn down, bundle and tie it, so that
it can be shocked. Then the shredder
;hucks the corn and cuts the stalk.
fodder. and all, into the best kind OF
iced. So the corn and the cotton are
be housed by machinery. The to-
bacco business, as everybody knows.
greatly aided by turkeys picking
the worms off and the geese can
)lck the grass out of the young cotton.
The peanuts can be thrcshed by ma
hinery, the wheat harvested by ma
chinery, the meadows moved by ma
ehinery. the peavines cut by machin-
cry, and now the cotton is to be picked
out by machinery. What country 1t
VII be. if machinery goes on at the
ate it's now going ahead!
When l was a boy we used to gath
II the open cotton, by the wagon load
IN the early morning, when Ne dew
was upon it, and bank it in Il work
house. to be picked at night. After
supper we commenced the work, and
by nine or ten O'clock two or three
hundred pounds had been picked and
the hulls burned as the picking pro-
gressed.
Cotton gins were run by horse power
and a bale or two. a day, was good
work for gin. Now gin that does moi
pick eighteen or twenty bales day IS
second class. And, when that new ma
chine is perfected, which is to go into
the fields and pick the cotton from the
stalks, Sambo will be out of a job,
sure enough; and raising cotton will
be as easy as raising chickens
BY the way. chickens are chickens.
and eggs are up in the pictures, as To
price. A lady told me that she paid
fifty cents for two eggs in Baltimore
the other day. If fellow will invent
| machine to lay eggs he'll have the
| biggest thing in this country. I'd
rather own f.rst-class egg-laying
all it's cotton possibilities. / mean
such machine AS could lay eggs as
much faster than hen, as improved
machinery is faster than old time
| methods, in other things. Won't some
body try his hand on an egg-layer?
We've got egg-hatcherS and they do
all right, but the need of the times
| is a machine to lay eggs. AS ] see it,
we are bound to have it or fried ham
/ In 1,I1+ tF
| many people-we poor folks who
are not able to pay more than d cent
apiece for eggs. Who will invent the
egg-layer? George Washington-first
| in war. first in peace, and first in
the hearts of his countrymen-wou
soon be relegated to a seat away back,
in the affections of some of us, at
least, if the egg-laying invention pan
ned out all right, fixing the price OF
eggs at ten cents a dozen the year
round.
Speaking of ham and eggs excites
me very much, for / confess to the
weakness of being very fond of them.
SO great is that fondness that if | am
going along just after / have eaten
a hearty breakfast and get d whiff of
the Odor of ham and eggs, frying, |
get SO hungry / can hardly pass by
But then, / am like the old negro
was Dy 'pOSSum sop ana tdlefS, |
am easily excited. The old negro. with
Il little boy behind him. was riding Il
mule. The little boy after a long
silence, asked: "Uncle Efrom does you
/ love poSSum p?
Course l dus. Whatd you ask dat
| fool question for? D'you ever see a nia
ger dat didn't love possum?'
| The little boy held his peace for Il
/ few minutes, then asked: 'Unclc Eff
rom. does you love possum sop anu
taterS?"
"You quit tallkin bout dem, you'll
make dis mule run away, shore" said
Uncle ,Efrom. He was getting cX-
cited.
| Yes, l like ham and eggs. and the
bare thought of owning machine
| that | could set to work and have a
| dozen or two fresh eggs laid fol
breakfast, makes me feel right hungry
! while I write; so I'll drop the subject
Speaking of machinery there is tho
/ finest opportunity in the world for q
man to immortalize himself. The
greatest need of this age is a cooking
| machine machine that can make
| fires. bake. biscuits and mullins, fry
steak. ham and eggs, and do all kinds
| of Kitchen work-a machine that
won't sass the mistress of the home