The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-09-04
WONDERFUL PROCESS IS THIS.
Man Says He Can Artificially Mature
Cotton.

surprised DI tle pcIleCllOu VI SOIHe
great invention, but we feel sure that
none has been more wonderful than
one claimed by Prof. John B. Hall, Of
Philadelphia in a talk at Barnwell.
He came to Barnwell, referred to Col.
Harry D. Calhoun by Commissioner
E. J. Watson, in order to try bolls
for experimental purposes at his sta
ton in Pennsylvania We copy the
following from the Barnwell People
of Thursday in regard to his visit to
that city:
That with a new process that he
has only recently perfected he can do
in two hours what it takes nature
weeks to accomplish and do it better
at that, was the assertion made by
John B. Hall, of Philadelphia, to a
number of planters and representa-
tive business men in the directors
room of the Home Bank of Barnwell.
Friday evening. For an hour or
more Mr.. Hall told of the results that
have been accomplished, and it was
like listening to fairy tale wherein
the good fairy waves her magic
wand and unheard of things happen.
But that he was in earnest no one
doubted. He was not trying to sell
anything; he had no apparent reason
to wish to humbug any one; he was
not asking for something for nothing
ON the contrary he paid and was
willing to pay we'll for what he want
ed; i. e., green bolls of cotton. He
bought several hundred pounds OF
short and several hundred pounds of
long staple cotton bolls at from five
to seven and a half cents pound,
depending on the variety of the cot
ton, and in addition made arrange
ments for the purchase of several
thousands pounds more to be shipped
to Philadelphia. At present the ex-
periments are being carried on at
government station.
Mr.. Hall exhibited number of
open bolls of cotton which he said
were matured by his process. One
of them was partly rotted, while
another had been punctured by the
boil weevil in several places. Yet
they had opened and by dyeing the
staple part of it can be used. The
boil weevil has cost the farmers of
the southwest millions of dollars by
destroying the bolls before they have
reached maturity. Mr.. Hall claims
that with his process the boil weevil
will be starved out.
At present the experiments are be-
ing carried on secretly, as letters pat
ent have, not yet been secured, but
the method of procedure is as fol-
lows: Instead of waiting until the
tolls have fully opened, and the cot
ton is damaged by the weather, the
green bolls are picked like roses
It doesn't matter if they are one,
two, three, four or five weeks from
maturity. They are then poured into
an immense hopper and pass into the
machine where the maturing process
is done Then the seed cotton is
separated from the boil and is car
ried to the gin.
But what is just as wonderful is
that Mr.. Hall states that the by-pro-
ducts that can be made from bolls
and stalks are as valuable as the cot
ton itself. He stated that an excell-
ent grade of rubber, paper pulp and
gunpowder are among the by-pro-
ducts.
Now, if he can make good on his
claim he is perhaps the most wonder
full man of the age. Think minute
what it would mean. A saving of
waste by eliminating immature or
trost-bitten bolls and of the cotton
that is blown off by the wind after
maturity. The saving Of labor, for
by picking the whole boil from the
plant one workman could do the work
of several. 1t now costs something
like S1OO,OOO,0O0 a year to gather
the cotton crop of the South, and by
cutting this in half there would be
saving of S5O,000,000 yearly.
Now as to the texture Of the staple
that is artifcially matured; Mr.. Hall
claims that it is far superior to the
same grade of cotton naturally ma
tured because cotton as matured
now on the field while waiting to be
picked, is subjected to the dews or
chill of the night followed by the heat
of the sun next day or possibly some
days of rain or climatic conditions of
some kind, together with the dirt or
dust brown on the cotton. The gloss
on the artificially matured cotton
would he Of q briI1iancy and white