HARVESTING 



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much larger quantities. An average yield is about 200 

 pounds of lint per acre. After picking, the most common 

 practice is to haul the seed cotton to a public gin where the 

 lint is separated from the seed. This separation is made 

 by means of circular saws revolving at a very high speed. 

 A large brush removes the lint from the saws and passes it 





Keystone View Co. 

 Fig. no. Loads of cotton ready for the cotton gin. 



to a condenser from which it enters the press where it is 

 compacted into bales. The size of bales varies somewhat 

 but usually they are 27 by 54 inches and contain about 

 500 pounds of lint cotton. The bales are usually entirely 

 covered with a coarse cloth, or " bagging/' which is bound 

 by six steel bands extending around the bale. For shipping 

 purposes, these bales are pressed to a still smaller size in 

 order to reduce the cost of shipping. 



