The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1909-10-23
WILL Do THE WORK
NEW COTTON PICKER SAID TO BE
AN ENTIRE SUCCESS.

Claims That it Will Pick Thousand
Pounds an Hour Without Injury
to Bolls or Plant.
The practical working of the Price
Campbell cotton picking machine was
demonstrated on the plantation of
Senator John L. McLaurin, near
Bennettsville one day last week in
the presence of a large number of
plante and other citizens, and If
what is claimed for the new ma
chine is true, it can be truthfully
asserted that the days of hand picked
cotton will soon be thing of the
past. It is asserted that the ma
chine picked cotton at the rate Of a
thousand pounds an hour, without
injury to the plant or unopened
bolls. About 90 per cent of the open
cotton was obtained at the first pick
ing, and by running the machine over
the same rows again, 1t got about
80 per cent of the balance, making
80 per cent. There was a consider
able amount of trash in the cotton
picked, but many practical farmers
said they had seen more trash in
hand-picked cotton.
A hundred-acre field of cotton was
bought last summer from Senator
McLaurin by Theodore H. Price Of
New York for the demonstration of
the machine.
No cotton had been pckad i'll The
field, and the bolls which opened
early in the season had been damag-
ed by dust and smoke in the field,
and the foliage had become dry AMI
rotten, so that the cotton naturally
made a poorer appea ance than i 1t
had been picked soon after open
ing. Some of the cotton was ginned
and submitted to buyers here, who
classed it as low middling to strict
low middling. They said they had
bought great deal OF cotton this
season which was not as good as that
picked by the machine.
Upon the invitation Of Mr.. Price,
a number of Northern capitalists
came down and witnessed a private
test of the machine. They saw a
bale Of cotton picked in an hour and
then ginned. The party included
v. Ernest Macy, Marshall P. Slade
w. II. Lotus, N. F. Carpenter, Geo
w. Baxter, Rudolph H. Kissel, George
c.. F aser and Elwood Hendrick, 0i
New York, Herbert E. Walmsley and
Herbert E. Walmsley, Jr., Of New
Bedford, Mass; Stephen C. Lowe, F
P. Sheldon, Frederic S. Goodwin, G.
l.. Hathaway, F.. w. Perkins and o
D. Hammond of Boston, 8. H. Nc
Ribbon and George P. Gordon oi
Pittsburg, and Joel Hurt of Atlanta
They were fully convinced that the
machine is success.
The machine is driven by an auto
mobile engine, and the driver sit:
in front and steers the machine
astride row of cotton. 1t moves
over row as fast as a man car
walk, picking about an acre an hour
The projecting noses run aheat
of the machine, on each side OF the
row, and lift up the limbs that are
all gathered up and pressed into
space about a foot wide. While the
stalk is thus held, small steel spin
dies reach 4hrpugh it from bott
sides, reaching every inch OF space
On one side of each spindle is row
of small teeth, so short that the!
will not catch hold Of anything eX
cept the cotton fiber.
These spindles are revolving rap
idly and when a lock OF cotton i:
touched it is caught and wrapped
around the spindle. The spindle!
then move out of the plant, stol
revolving, and the cotton is take1
off by ribs similar to the breast o
gain. It falls on conveyors, Whicf
empty it in bags at the rear of the
machine. A boy sits on the rear o
the machine and packs the cotton II
the bags. The boy would not b
needed if the bags were large enough
to hold a round without packing.
Very few pieces OF locks are lef
in the burrs. The cotton left II
usually in whole bolls or locks. Ih'
spindles either miss them or els'
are already loaded when they come
in contact with them. When
spindle engages a lock, it usual!
twists it all out. Running the ma
chine over a row the second time
demonstrated the fact that PRACTICAL!
all the cotton could be gotten the
first time by doubling the capacit!
of the machine, which can be done
by lengthening the battery OF SPIN
dies.
Angus Campbell of Pittsburg, th'
J.,