The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-03-21
ANOTHER COTTON
PICKER PROCLAIMED


The greatest obstacle in the develop
ment Of Southern agriculture has been
the necessity of utilizing hand labor
in gathering the cotton crop. A large
portion Of the negro population, men.
women and children, are employed
during the harvesting season picking
open bolis by hand. This necessitates
a very great needless expense to the
planter for producing his crop. and
it is attended by a large percentage of
waste, since the negroes frequently
pluck unripe bolls which must be
thrown away as useless.
Mechanism has at last been invented
which appears to solve the problem
Of harvesting cotton by machinery, as
the harvester performs the work on
the wheat farms of the West, one Of
them doing the work OF q hundred or
more human laborers.
There is an important difference be-
tween picking cotton and harvesting
the grain. The grain harvester goes
over the field. cutting down every
stalk.
that it picks only the bolls that are
ripe or fit for harvesting and leaves
those which are not matured
In one field a month or more may
elapse before all Of the plants are
ready for picking, and for this reason
it IS necessary to cover the ground at
least twice by the machine, which
| 1c
tnat the percentage of ripe cotton left
after the machine has done its work
is 50 small as to be Insignificant. as
compared with the great waste which
! results from careless picking by the
negroes.
The machine picks about 10 pounds
of seed cotton a. minute. Or 5000
pounds a day Of 10 hours, if kept run
| n.ng continuously. or 5,4O0 pounds per
| DAY, allowing 10 per cent for stoppagc.
The quantity picked varies somewhat.
| depending on the amount OF ripe cot
| ton on the plants, but the above
/, amount may be considered as tair
average. On the first trip it gathers
| so per cent of the ripe cotton, and the
remaining 10 per cent is picked on the
second trip.
! An average Of 30 horse power is re
| qmred to operate this interesting cot
! ton picker. A gasoline motov of 80
| horse power is usually installed for
! the service Beneath the engine are
| what are termed two picking attach
/ ments swung under it, and a pair OF
! canvas bags hung out behind.
| 1t moves over the field as fast as 4
! man walks the Wheels passing aions
/ no haf
The cotton is picked out by the revOlv-
ing steel fingers which catch the lint
but leave the plant uninjured, so tha'
! later bolls may mature. The picking
| machinery Is on two drums which
hang from the frame of the tractor
An endless chair of upright cylin.
ders Of small diameter follow eacF
other around the drum. From these
| cylinders the needles or spindle:
| which do the picking project horizon
tally into the plant. In operation each
part has It's individual movement. Tht
drum carries the cylinders around
the cylinders force the needles into
the plant at the proper angle. &C
twist and catch the cotton.
Every motion is delicately adjusted
| While the needles move fast enough /
catch the fiber, their speed is not fast
enough to throw it out Of the receiver
The cylinders bring each needle into
place at the proper time, SO that thert
is never space large enough for al
omen bob to pass through without be
ing stripped of its contents. The drum
is moving backward at the same RAJ;
that the whole machine moves forward
50 that the picking needles do m
move horizontally through the plant
but merely turn IA II.
In the cylinders of each picker art
no less than SIS OF these steel hngert
which harvest the cotton. Hut oIis
man is required to operate the engine
whilc he also steers the mechanism