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huller feeder leading' to the gin itself. In connection with the picker 

 roller is a trash flue, and in connection with the huller there is a spiral 

 conveyor for such trash as may have escaped the preceding operations. 

 There can be no doubt that this system is very effective in extracting 

 the weevils from the seed cotton and destroying them. From the 

 present standpoint, however, these machines have the weakness of 

 requiring a belt distributor, because of the fact that the air passes 

 through the screens before the cotton reaches the lower portion of the 

 device. As has been pointed out previously, there is great danger of 

 the weevils escaping and spreading from the surplus which the belt 

 distributor deposits upon the floor of the gin. However, in this case, 

 the very thorough beating and screening'through which the cotton has 

 passed undoubtedly largely removes this objection. Although no 

 actual experiments have been performed, it seems certain that prac- 

 ticallj'^ all of the weevils will be extracted from the seed cotton before 

 it reaches the belt distributor. This system undoubtedl}^ constitutes 

 one of the most thorough cleaning devices for cotton now known. 



SEFAHATE CIiEAXEBS. 



Considerable ingenuity has been exercised in perfecting another 

 class of cleaners, which are separate machines and movable from one 

 point in a ginnery or seed-cotton storage house to another. They are 

 used either in connection with the distributor-belt system at the gin 

 or in the seed-cotton storage house for simply dropping the cotton, or 

 blowing it into stalls or compartments. These machines consist of a 

 picker roller or drum, revolving rapidly against a screen. The debris 

 passing through the screen, which would include many weevils, is 

 drawn through a fan and discharged at various places. These machines 

 have superior merit for cleaning the seed cotton, as the}^ have a very 

 large arc of contact on the screening surface. The speed at which the 

 picker roller is revolved, greatly exceeding that attained in the case 

 of the ordinary feeders, is another decided advantage. The weevils 

 forced through the meshes of this screen are carried through the fan, 

 where experiments have shown that they will be destroyed. It is 

 consequently immaterial whether the trash is blown about the gin yard 

 or into the seed conveyor, as is sometimes done. Unfortunately these 

 excellent machines are not likely to come into general use at the large 

 ginneries for the reason that the seed cotton in passing from the wagon 

 to the bale would have to be rehandled and ref ed through another suc- 

 tion pipe leading to the gins. The modern cleaner feeders seem to be 

 taking the place of nearly all separate and distinct cleaning devices at 

 the gins. Nevertheless, where seed cotton is taken from the wagons 

 in baskets and fed into the gin stands these machines would be of very 

 decided advantage in eliminating the weevils. 



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