29 



have escaped the pickers, assorters and shoot-fillers are also picked out 

 at the same time. These conveyers, it may be mentioned, are driven 

 by belting from the main shaft. 



The lint which should now be quite white and free from impurities 

 is taken to the baling room. Care is taken to remove the lint from 

 the neighbourhood of the gins as fast as possible in order that in case 

 of fire there is very little ot it to burn. 



Gins. 



The best gins for long staple cotton almost universally used in the 

 Sea Islands are McCarthy Single Action Single RoU-r gins made by 

 Messrs. Piatt Brothers, Messrs Dobson & Barlow, and Messrs. Lee of 

 Oldham, Lancashire. These gins are, however, modified after being 

 received to suit local requirements. A specimen gin so modified is 

 now at the Central C tton Factory at Bridgetown. The gins should 

 be firmly placed on a solid masonry foundation and be quite level. In 

 the Sea Islands they are usually placed on thick brick walls. 



In setting a gin ready for working the following points should 

 hi carefullv attended to. First, the leather-covered roller should 

 be exactly parallel to the frame carrying the " doctor" knife. Then 

 the bevelled edge of the doctor knife should be placed against the 

 roller and in such a position that the edge of the bevel presses a 

 little more on the roller than the heel. The edge of the doctor 

 knife ought to be opposite the centre of the roller or slightly above it. 



The beater should then be set so as to pass the edge of the doctor 

 knife || in. on its upward stroke and the same distance on its 

 downward stroke. In other words, the length of the stroke of the 

 beater ought to be If in. This will allow sufficient space for the cot- 

 ton to come in contact with the roller , In many instances the beater 

 shaft is rai-ed higher than when sent out from England so that the 

 arc formed by the beater is equi-distant from the roller when at its 

 highest and lowest points and nearest to the doctor knife when passing 

 its edge. 



The spiral grooves of the roller should not be more than one-six- 

 teenth of nn inch deep and should all be on the edge of the flesh side 

 of the walrus hide. Care should be taken to see that the roller has 

 been turned true and that ii is always the same distance away from 

 the doctor knife along the whole of its length. The leather on the 

 roller usually remains in good condition for sufficient time to clean 

 about 100 to 125 bales of lint. After that period it will probably re- 

 quire to be renewed An extra roller should always be ordered with 

 each gin so that the work of ginning may not be interrupted The 

 rollers are covered with a specially prepared walrus hide. This is said 

 to cost in Loudon about 3/ per pound. It requires 18 pounds to cover 

 a single roller. During the present season it will probably be found 

 m )re convenient to order extra rollers from the makers than attempt 

 to cover thera in the West Indies. "^On many of the gins in use in the 

 Sea Islands a brush is adjusted in place of the wooden or iron bar 

 which hangs against the back ot the roller to prevent the lint from 

 being carried round with the I'oller and so causing what is known as 

 "back lashing." The latter if not immediately attended to may cause 

 the doctor knife to be forced outward until it comes in collision with 

 the beater. The brush is attached to the frame of the conveyor be- 



