52 COTTON CULTURE. 



and easy in its operation, that will put four hundred pounds 

 of cotton into forty cubic feet, which is about the degree 

 of compression given by the steam press. There i's an- 

 other important advantage to be gained by putting the 

 cotton into small compact bales. Its freight will cost a 

 third or a half less, whether by car or steamboat, it will 

 waste less in handling, and, if bound with iron hoops, will 

 be in far less danger of destruction by fire. 



Of late the iron hoop or tie has rapidly superseded the 

 rope in former use, and it has the recommendation of being 

 cheaper as well as every way better. 



It makes a neat, firm looking bale, not liable to burst 

 from the untying or cutting of the ropes, and, as a grand 

 advantage, the iron hoops hold the cotton so compactly 

 that in case of a fire only the surface is scorched. 



In general, the hoop used among planters is too narrow, 

 being less than an inch. If the cotton growers would use 

 better presses, so as to force the usual number of pounds 

 into a third or half less space than a four hundred-pound 

 bale usually occupies, and then confine it with eight to ten 

 hoops an inch or 'an inch and a quarter wide, the package 

 would leave the gin-house in a condition to make the trip 

 to Manchester or Lowell without damage from fire, water, 

 or rough and frequent handling. 



Since the effect of the recent war in opening the South 

 to free labor, and the application of Yankee ingenuity in 

 overcoming the various problems and difficulties in cotton- 

 growing, several cotton presses, new in their design and 

 admirable in their principle, have been submitted to the 

 cotton growing community. 



Among these one of the best is that patented in 1860, by 

 P. G. Gardner. The cut of this admirable press which faces 

 this page, needs but little explanation. The effect of turning 

 the large cast iron wheels on each side of the press, is to 

 move the screws c and d with great force in the direction 

 desired. These screws are fastened to a and # 3 cast iron 



