SOLON ROBINSON, 1850 383 



One very intelligent gentleman told me that he had spent 

 $5,000 in trying experiments in machinery to gin this 

 kind of cotton. 



From the gins, the cotton is taken to the mote table, 

 where a woman looks it over very carefully and picks out 

 every little mote or stained lock, as fast as two men gin. 

 From the mote table it goes through the hands of a gen- 

 eral superintendent, or overlooker, and then to the packer. 

 This operation is done by sewing the end of a bag over a 

 hoop, and suspending it through a hole in the floor, and in 

 this, the packer stands with a wooden or iron pestle, 

 packing one bale of about 350 lbs. a-day, as fast as it is 

 ginned; as exposure to the air injures the quality, and it 

 is not so salable in square bales packed in presses, as it is 

 in hand-packed bags. 



The whole operation of preparing this valuable staple 

 for market requires the nicest work and careful watching 

 of the operatives, as a little carelessness injures the value 

 to the consumer. It is worth from 30 to 50 cents a pound 

 — more than common wool. 



The cultivation of these plantations is exceeding neat— 

 too much so, probably, for the greatest profit, as has been 

 proved, I think, by Mr. Townsend, in the use of plows 

 instead of hoes. Mr. T. has also proved that sugar cane 

 will grow well, and has put up a small mill, and made 

 some sugar. The cane matures fifteen joints and granu- 

 lates well. 



How Much Lime Will an Acre of Land Bear 

 WITHOUT Injury? 



[New York American Agriculturist, 9:207; July, 1850] 



[June ?, 1850] 



This is a question often asked and as often answered 

 in various ways. Some persons contend that no more 

 than fifty bushels of slacked lime should ever be used at 

 once, while others are of the opinion that it is better 

 to put on 100 bushels at first than to make two or three 



