Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-06
WILL SPIN COTTON
Government to Enlarge Scope
of Its Tests.
Is AN AID TO INDUSTRY
Grading Is Placed ON More Scien-
tific Basis.
WORK IS OF GREAT VALUE
Congress Is Expected to Appropriate
for Experiments at This
Session.
WORK IS OF GREAT vALU

Cotton spinning on a practical scale IL
to be practiced by the Department OF
Agriculture. II the appropriation bill that
has been passed by the House and ap-
proved by the Senate committee goes
through. The department has been work.
ing with the technical side of the cot
ton industry for some years since Con-
gress authorized the setting OF standards
for cotton grades. Prior to that there
had been EMO such thing as a standard
cotton sample, because 1t had been I'M
possible to get a sample of cotton that
would not discolor and deteriorate In a
short time by atmospheric action.
The chronological branch Of the de-
partment overcame this difficulty by
getting some of the most prominent
cotton men In the business to form a
committee and select standard samples
for the various grades. These samples
then were placed in big glass bulbs
like immense ihcandescent l:gh> globes
and the air was extracted and the
bulbs sealed up. These original SAM
pies are kept in a dark room, end
brought out only occasionally for COM
parison with other cotton samples.
These standard samples have been ac-
cepted throughout the cotton world as
the true standards by which cotton
should be graded when bought and
sold.
Looms to Be Installed.
The present Congress cop.emplates car
rying the technical cotton work step
farther. There is being built a big six
story building on the east side OF 14th
street below B street southwest just
next to the ONCE of public roads. Here
the whole OF the technical work OF the
department will be housed and there will
be installed cotton machinery of all sorts
from cotton gins to looms for weaving
the finished thread.
The department has been working for
some time on a method Of grading cotton
whereby the length OF the staple can be
a absolutely determined. The method now
in use among expert cotton buyers 10 by
pulling" samples BY this method q
buyer takes a piece OF cotton between his
sngers, pulls and smooths 1t out as well
as possible and averages by eye the
length Of the staple. This is q very i'm
portant matter for the mill man who Ii
using the cotton Ii his looms, and the
buyers are experts. who receive large
salaries.
BY the method the department has de-
veloped the strand of cotton Is laid on
ground glass screen and the shadow
thrown up. greatly magnified by light
behind 1t. map-measuring instrument
length found. This is done with any num-
Der Of strands from the sample and then
the length Is averaged. The cotton mill
men all over the United States have
taken instantly to the new measuring
system. The state experiment stations In
Oklahoma. Mississippi and Massa chusetts
have already installed similar plants.
Character of Tests.
In the new building that is to be de-
voted to the chronological work all of the
cotton devices will be installed together
with several new ones. A very important
feature Of cotton selection for. the mill
man 10 the strength as well as the length
Of the staple and Its spinning qualities
There will be placed in the new building
cotton gins which will be used to deter
mine the speed at which the gin can be
run without spelling the quality Of the
cotton turned out. There will be ma
chimes for spinning yarn and some Tor
weaving it, to determine just the quality
of goods q given cotton will produce. end
there will be special machines designed
for testing the strength and spinning
qualities Of the various grades OF cotton
All this work is in the same general line
as the community cotton growing that the
department is introducing In the south
| In this work each community Is pledged
| to grow 4 certain kind OF cotton and nc
| other, so that the strain OF seed viii
remain true to type and will not be con.
| taminated by accidental hybridizing with
| a different sort OF cotton, grown In thu
same locality. Oklahoma and Texas al
! ready have started on the work Of grow.
| ing a single type Of cotton. and there arr
interesting experiments the same Inc
being carried on in other parts OF thu
4 south