170 THE DEVELOPMENT OF RAW COTTON 



The trouble of conducting these tests in an ordinary mill 

 is very considerable, but it should be practicable to 

 establish a " Spinning Testing-House " for raw cotton, 

 as suggested by Mr. J. W. McConnel, in which sets of 

 machinery were installed for the special purpose of hand- 

 ling ten-pound samples. The fee would necessarily be 

 fairly high, but the use of such an institution would not 

 be confined solely to growers. The tests would have to 

 be standardized for a range of counts and classes of yarn, 

 and the results of the tests presented statistically as far 

 as possible. An immense amount of uncertainty would 

 thus be eliminated from the grower's work, and a series 

 of standard records would accumulate. 



It is interesting to look back from the present day 

 to the results obtained by the first of the author's prede- 

 cessors, Mr. O'Neill. His papers were read 



y ears ^ n L ancas hir e in 1863, and from them we 

 Ago. 



can make certain comparisons with the 



cottons of the present day. The intervening fifty years 

 have heard much talk of progress, and have seen many 

 extensions of cotton- growing areas. Nevertheless, the 

 good cottons which Mr. O'Neill handled were every whit 

 as regular and good as those of the present day. Modern 

 civilization has scarcely begun to affect the cotton-plant. 

 This book has been written in the hope of clarifying 

 ideas on the subject, and facilitating further inquiry, 

 so that the cottons of fifty years hence may be more 

 dependable than those of to-day. 



