124 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 



farm conditions, would go far toward solving 

 the harvesting problem. With a successful 

 mechanical picker the cotton acreage could be 

 enormously increased and the whole system 

 placed on a changed economic basis. 



Ginning. The second process in harvesting 

 cotton is the ginning or separation of the lint 

 from the seed. In the early days of cotton 

 ginning in this country this was done by hand, 

 a man separating from the seed about one 

 pound of lint per day. The cotton gin was 

 invented in 1792 and since then has been so 

 perfected as to entirely revolutionize the 

 cotton industry and make it one of the greatest 

 in the world. The modern seventy-saw gin 

 stand will gin from ten to fifteen bales a day. 

 In big ginneries several stands are connected, 

 all arranged for conveying the lint to the same 

 press. The lint is carried by conveyors from 

 the gin stand to the press, where it is packed into 

 bales, varying in weight from 300 to 600 pounds. 

 The average commercial bale is rated at 500 

 pounds. . 



These big plants take care of the crop for a 

 considerable territory. The saw gin is used 

 for the short and medium staple cottons. 



