Cotton Culture. 621 



About uiie-third of the weiglil of seed cotton is lint nnd the remainder 

 seed. 



There are two kinds of gins in general use, namely, roller gins 

 and saw g-ins. The former is used for the long'-staple cottons, thereby 

 avoiding- breaking- or knotting of the fibres; the latter almost exclu- 

 sively for ginning the short-staple cottons with txiczy seeds. The 

 greater majority of gins are saw gins, as they do much quicker and 

 cheaper work. An ordinary roller gin requiring 2 horsepower can 

 treat about 35 D). of seed cotton per hour, whereas a saw g-in with the 

 same horsepower can gin 180 lb. per hour. The saws of the latter 

 have a velocity of approximately 450 revolutions per minute, and 

 the teeth of the saws pull the lint from the seed, while a brush 

 reA'olving- at high speed again removes the lint from the saws. 



Before the invention of the roller gin in 1792 by Whitney and 

 Holmes in America, it took a inan a whole day to separate 1 lb. of 

 lint with his fingers (the general practice followed at that time). 

 After the machine had come in use the growing of cotton in North 

 America made enormous strides. The demand for gins in the Union 

 is being increasingly met, and to-day there are several gins per- 

 manently established in various parts of the Transvaal and Natal, 

 where the cotton industry is developing rapidly. 



In South Africa, where manual labour is still in vogue, the 

 ginning costs are halfpenny per lb. lint, and in the U.S.A., where 

 the pneumatic system is in use, it amounts to only one-eighth of a 

 penny, or one-fourth of what it is here. 



After being ginned the cotton is pressed by means of a 

 strong press into bales of 54 in. by 27 in. by 27 in., and weighing 

 500 lb. each. The bales are covered with hessian or sack cloth and 

 fastened with iron hoops to prevent them from expanding. South 

 African cotton bales are. as a whole, far neater and more attractive 

 than American bales. 



Costs of Cultivation and Profits. — The costs and profits naturally 

 depend largely on the value of the ground, the weather conditions, 

 and the distance from the ginneries and the market. But even if 

 these conditions should be quite favourable sufficient labour must be 

 available at reasonable wages. Without sufficient cheap labour it is 

 practically impossible to grow cotton profitably. Fortunately most 

 parts of the Union suitable for the growing of cotton are well supplied 

 with natives with large families. 



The costs work out at about £4 to £'G per morgen, and the profits, 

 under normal conditions, at £6 to £18. Since the world-war prices 

 have risen enormously and the profits are therefore much greater. It 

 is not possible to give definite figures, as so mu<"h depends on the 

 farmer himself and on circumstances. This, however, may be said 

 with certainty that, where conditions are favourable and the farmer 

 does his-duty, cotton is a profitable crop and pays better than mealies. 

 Moreover, the cotton plant in South Africa is not yet so subject to 

 insect pests and diseases as, for instance, it is in America, where the 

 profits of the cotton grower are greatly reduced by the depredations 

 of the cotton-boll weevil, the bollworm, fungus diseases, etc. If 

 cotton were to be grown here on a more extensive scale more pests 

 would most likely make their appearance, but in such contingency 

 Jijeaijs would no doubt be devised to combat thenf. Bollworms are at 



