HARVESTING AND MARKETING COTTON 125 



When long staple cotton is ginned on the saw 

 gin it should be run at a low speed, not over 

 300 to 400 revolutions a minute. It is a very 

 common practice to run a gin too fast and to 

 injure the staple of any kind of cotton. This 

 is especially true in the busy season, when the 

 ginning plants are more or less crowded. For 

 ginning very long staples, such as Sea Island, 

 what is known as a roller gin is used. This is 

 done to prevent cutting the fiber, which may 

 occur with the saw gin. 



Before shipment to distant markets, the 

 bale is compressed to one half its size. The 

 round bale is compressed at the gin. The 

 square bales are covered with what is known as 

 bagging, which is made of jute in most cases 

 and is usually a very poor covering. The 

 bale is bound by six steel ties. The average 

 American cotton bale presents a very ragged 

 appearance. Some sections are using bet- 

 ter coverings for their cotton bales, and especi- 

 ally is this true where the round bale press is 

 used. The round bale is a much neater 

 package, and is completely protected from 

 damage by handling, dirt, or weather. The 

 farmer should demand a better wrapping for 



