GINNING 45 



chloride in 1,000 parts of water (or about one ounce 

 in seven gallons). The seeds are soaked for twenty 

 minutes in the solution, care being taken that they are 

 thoroughly wetted. They are then washed in water 

 and spread out in a thin layer to dry on a clean floor 

 or on clean canvas in the shade. Whilst drying, the 

 seeds should be turned over from time to time until 

 they are quite dry. It is necessary to exercise great 

 care in handling the corrosive sublimate on account 

 of its highly poisonous nature. 



(4) For the destruction of the larvae of the pink 

 boll-worms in cotton seed, the Ministry of Agriculture 

 of Egypt advises treatment with hot air at a tempera- 

 ture of 55-65 C. (v. page 40). Special plant has 

 been designed for this purpose in which the heat is 

 regulated automatically. 



PREPARATION OF COTTON FOR THE MARKET 



Ginning. The process of removing the cotton or 

 " lint " from the seed is known as " ginning." In the 

 United States, the cotton used to be picked off the 

 seeds by hand . 'Very primitive implements have been 

 employed for the purpose in India and are still used 

 in many districts. One of these is a simple wooden 

 roller, worked with the foot on a flat stone slab on 

 which the seed-cotton is placed, the seed being thus 

 pressed out from the cotton. Another is the so-called 

 " churka " gin which, in its simplest form, consists 

 of a rough wooden frame containing two parallel 

 rollers set close together ; the upper roller is fixed 

 whilst the lower is rotated by means of a handle. In 

 some forms, the two rollers, which are either both 

 made of wood or one of wood and the other of iron, 

 are both movable and are made to revolve towards 

 each other by means of a crank or wheel at one or 

 both ends. On pressing some of the fibres of the 

 seed-cotton between the rollers and turning the 

 handle, the lint is drawn through and pulled off the 

 seed which, being too large and hard to pass through, 

 remains behind and falls to the ground. Various 

 forms of this machine are found in different parts 



