Imperial Valley press., 1913-12-26
Trying Out Picker
Of Cotton Here

NHHAFHElHHae HHrNF Eaah NaH 70 = Nc
Donald 81 Calexieo. Who is enthUsi
astie ever che peospects 81 the ma
chiue Mr. MelAonald b. cns II shs
largest growers ~ c8tton in the val
hes
The pFincipls of the machine Is that
electrictfy has a. attraction for Tire
cottan Nlsers hs mears - q vatlcaH
iEed steel plmae ever whieh small
brushes nrc being feHcei &c = rapid
rate. = magnet IS pFodured whleh O.
on the abers ~ TIE eOttoA
The tragk ou whieh t ie planned o.
carry TIE nicklna aevlce over TIE 4ei !
Is similar 60 or antemohiin IN this
are four elortriuaiiY cha I'D piates .
the two going ahaad b. rE designed
50 a. % loosen TIE ripe cotton from
the hollis and the ether TIVE. eeming
aftefwaFd. removing re cotton.
From TIE plates fhe cotton = then
Faked of automatically and pressed
upward through = funnel Al the top
q b. aerated in a draft 81 wind To blow
the chaff from e and then pressed
into sacks
ObvatiBg all chance 81 tearing the
cotton plants or taking leaves up into
the picker is the fact that the electric
magnet has no effect upon any part Of
the plant that may be green or con-
tain moisture. NeCewhs believes that
he has perfected a screen device by
which all the dry leaves that are
drawn Up into the machine can be
crushed up. and so blown out Of the
cotton when Il Is aerated in the wind
The object 81 MeCombs IN demon
strating the machine here b. to inter
est sufficient capital 90 manufacture
several of the machines and form
company for the purpose Of picking
cotton in the valley II is declared
that the actual cost Of picking cotton
this season TO valley planters was
more than 1925. 900 With two or
three Of the machines working, Me
Combs estimates that the work could
be done for less than a tenth. The
total expense Of building four or i've
of the machines and forming the COM
pany to operate them will require
about $4,000.
The plan of the inventor Is to es-
tablish a factory in Imperial, where
the machines for use in the valley
could be manufactured.
Among those who saw the machine
yesterday and expressed satisfaction
with it are b. F. Mcdonald of Cal
exico, T. B. Fairchild. +. 3. Roberts
of Santa Ana. Judge H. W. Brewer,
William Rohiutt, A. +. Bredull, II. u.
Hutson, H. Haydis. George p. Blair,
o. Gillian, r. Spears. c. W. Fernald,
NJ. V. butcher. Bill Swindle. c. W.
Shurte, J. T. Buell., G.. Y. Payne, {. p.
Davies.
Explaining the features Of the ma
chine while he was demonstrating II
yesterday. McCombs declared that the
particular point of it is that it will
save money to the planter. He de.
clared that he had picked in fields
with ii as much as fifty men could
pick in the same time. Another point
is the fact that it picks only the ripe
cotton, which is far more valuable
than that mixed with green cotton.
1t also allows none Of the cotton TO
waste on the ground, which is the case
with hand pickers.
"Since the first growing Of cotton
in the United States on a scale that
insured a commercial success said
McCombs, "the greatest obstacle has
been the absence of a perfect method
of harvesting. Many methods or de-
vices have been eontrived to accom-
plish this end, but few of them have
proved little better than the hand
picking process. The trouble has been
that they all were working on the
theory that the cotton bOlls must be
picked.
"The machine, although new in the
valley, has been demonstrated else
where. 1t was first shown in Texas
before patents had been taken out on
it. There it met with such success
that the cotton pickers, fearing that
they would all lose their jobs. burned
the model up one night when ] left
it in shed. As these bolls are most
irregular in their growth on the cot
ton stalk it is absolutely impossible
to successfully cope with this eondi-
ton and at the same time adhere 10
the picking" process. That is the
reason why former attempts to i'm
prove on the hand method have
failed
an this harvester | have ascer-
tanned by wears of experimenting that
the idea of picking is absolutely in
cotton from the stalks and the gather
ing must be accomplished as two sep.
arate and distinct steps, one to pre-
cede the other. Following these lines
/ have constructed a machine that
throws volume of electrified air at
very high velocity against the cotton,
thereby removing it from the stalk.
and subsequently gathering this loose
cotton and conveying it by a current
of electrified air to a series of screens,
where any dirt or foreign matter is
removed from the cotton and the lat
ter left clean and in condition to
command the highest price.
'Gn removing the cotton from the
stalk | have so constructed the ma
chine that the stalks are prevented
from swaying violently, and all dan
ger of bruising or injury is thereby
absolutely obviated In the hand
picking method the cheap laborers
ernnlnued do not hother To Nather ting