COTTON-GIN 061 



Spindles Cotton consumed, Ibf. 



Great Britain and Ireland . . . 35,500,000 1,264,000,000 



United States 8,000,000 476,000,000 



France 5,200,000 197,000,000 



Germany 5,100,000 228,000,000 



Switzerland 2,500,000 56,000.000 



Russia 2,000,000 120,000,000 



Austria 1,600,000 106,000,000 



Spain 1,400,000 67,000,000 



Belgium 650,000 27,000,000 



Italy 500,000 24,000,000 



Sweden, Norway, and Denmark . . 300,000 18,000,000 



Holland 250,000 9,000,000 



Total . . . 63,000,000 2,592,000,000 



COTTOKT-CIN. The great mass of seeds with which the woolly fibres of cotton 

 are accompanied, and to which they adhere most tenaciously, must of necessity be re- 

 moved before the cotton can be turned to any useful purpose. This operation, called 

 ginning, is always performed as near as possible to the place of growth. Formerly the 

 object was effected by the rudest handicraft methods, such as are indeed still followed 

 in some parts of India. These methods were, however, very slow and costly. It was, 

 therefore, an important step forward in the history of cotton culture when Eli Whitney, 

 an American, in the year 1793, made known his in- ,,, 



vention of the saw-gin. The working of this machine 

 will be readily understood on reference to fig. 541, 

 where A B is a sectional view of a roller, about 

 9 inches in diameter, revolving in the direction of the 

 arrow. Throughout the length of the roller a series 

 of circular saws, at intervals of about an inch and 

 a half, projects beyond the wooden portion of it. 

 Above the cylinder, a hopper E F contains the seed 

 cotton, which falls upon a grating, so placed as to 

 allow the teeth of the saws when revolving to lay hold of the fibres of cotton and 

 pull them through the grating. The seeds being thus left behind roll down the slope 

 of the grating, and are discharged at the spout i x. The brush M revolves against the 

 teeth of the saws for the purpose of clearing them of the adherent fibres. 



The saw-gin has in several respects been modified since its invention, with the effect 

 of considerably increasing the out-turn, but the principle remains essentially the same 

 as we have described. The quality of its work, however, leaves room for improvement. 

 The rough teeth of the saws do not use the fibre gently enough, but cut and ' nep ' or 

 knot it, especially when the machine is allowed to get out of order or is carelessly 

 employed. Quite recently, an American inventor has hit upon an expedient which is 

 said to go far towards remedying these defects. This modification consists in substitu- 

 ting, for the circular saws, rows of pointed smooth steel wire teeth, which, whilst effectual 

 for the purpose of drawing away the cotton from the seeds, present no rough corners or 

 surfaces to the passing fibre. 



Calvert's toothed roller gin, illustrated by fig. 542, may be considered as a modifi- 

 cation of the saw-gin, a is a perspective and b a sectional view. A is a box to hold 

 the seed cotton, B is the hopper, and D is the toothed roller which draws away the 

 cotton, whilst the disengagement of the seeds is aided by the fluted roller c. 



The Macarthy gin differs from the saw-gin mainly in substituting for the saws a 

 roller, covered longitudinally, at intervals, with strips of leather set on spirally. A 

 blunted knife, working alternately up and down at right angles to the axis of the roller 

 and along its entire length, serves to strike off the adherent seeds at the point where 

 the fibre is being drawn through. This machine is not capable of doing as much work 

 us the saw-gin ; but, on the other hand, it delivers the cotton in very good condition, 

 and is on this account preferred for the longer stapled and more valuable varieties. 

 Successful efforts have been made to remove the objection to the Macarthy gin on the 

 ground of its comparatively small out-turn, but the inability of the native labourers 

 in most cotton-producing countries to work and keep in order any but the simplest 

 mechanical combinations has hitherto prevented the extensive adoption of the improved 

 machines. 



Another variety of cotton-gin is known as the Lock Jaw or Cowper's Gin. This 

 machine is intermittent in its action. It nips the fibre firmly, whilst an instru- 

 ment pushes off the seed ; then it releases its nold, allowing the clean fibre to pass 

 away. A fresh quantity is then brought in, held in like manner, and so detached from 



VOL. I. 3 Q 



