Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-11-19
REDUCING LOSSES
DUE TO IMPROPER
COTTON GINNING
Farmers May Cooperate to
Prevent Damage Resulting
from Poor Baling.

If there is to be any considerable
lessening of the great loss which oc-
ours in the American connton indus
try from the time the seed cotton IS
sucked into the gin until the Daied
lint is delivered at the mill. say spe-
cialists of the United States depart
n,ent of agriculture, planters must
come to realize that a large proper
ton of this loss falls on them either
directly or indirectly, and that they
must cooperate actively to eliminate
it. The loss so far as the fiber is
concerned results chiefly from I'M
proper ginning which Injuries the lint,
and the inadequate pressing and COW
ering of the bale BY concerted action,
il is pointa dout. farmers should be
able to secure better methods OF GIN
ming and better handling of their cot
ton, being enabled as a. result, to
market their crops to better advan-
tage. The part which the mechanical
treatment of the cotton plays in the
stability of the lint is discussed in
new publication Of the United
States department of agriculture,
farmers bulletin No. 764, Cotton Gin
ming Information for Farmers"
Cotton lint is injured under the
methods employed by many ginners,
resulting in cutting OF the flber
This is due usually to q too rapid run
ming Of the machinery, often because
of the pressure of business at the
gin. For best results, from the point
OF view of the planter, the maxl.num
speed should be about 400 revolutions
per minute for 10-inch gin saws.
! Twelve-inch Saws, which have recent
ly come into use, are recommended
by the department specialists because
given amount of ginning can De
done with saws Of this size when the
machinery is operated more slowly
| than with 1Q-inch saws. With the
saw shafts running at the same speed,
en- the, other hand, gin equipped
with Pinch saws will have 20 per
cent advantage in capacity over the
same gin equipped with 1O-inch saws.
l. Losses From Poor Baling.
| Perhaps the greatest losses falling
on American cotton under present
| conditions are due to the careless
| preparation of the bales. AS they
come from the gin, the bales are UNI
I wieldy and poorly covered, which
| causes handling charges to be great
| er than is necessary and subjects the
lint to- wastage and damage. Primar-
ily to reduce handling and freight
charges, most of these bales are CON-
pressed at concentration points and
are, in this way reduced to practical
" one-half their former bulk. The
bales are compressed very rapidly in
these establishments, however, with,
| the result that some bands are tied
shorter than others and bear most OF
| the strain. Many such bands break
later, leaving the cotton exposed in
such way that it becomes seriously
damaged during its long Journeys.
Complaints in regard to the condition
OF cotton on arrival at its destinations
are continually being received from
foreign countries, while the more
carefully baled and, covered cotton
from Egypt and India arrives at the
same destinations in good condition.
While little difference in efficiency
between the screw, steam, and hy-
draulic gin presses for ordinary cot
ton bales is found by the department.
specialists they believe that wherev-
er practicable the local ginner should
be induced by farmers to make use OF
the gin compress, which turns out
much more compact and better cover
ed bale than the ordinary presses
produce. More important still, the
gin compressed bales, it has been
found, arrive at their destinations in
better condition than do other COM
pressed bales. These gin compressed
bales are of about i5is same bulk as
bales which have been compressed
in railroad presses and need not,
therefore, undergo this second press