118 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



liminary trials with some of these pickers have given 

 promising results. The chief difficulty is to perfect a 

 machine that will pick thoroughly and rapidly the seed 

 cotton without including trash and without injuring the 

 unopen bolls. Several machines invented within very 

 recent years have given considerable promise of doing 

 this. It seems certain that in time a large percentage of 

 the cotton crop will be harvested by mechanical cotton- 

 pickers. 



"Some of these machines operate on the suction prin- 

 ciple : the open end of a hose pipe is directed by the human 

 hand close to each open boll, when the suction created 

 by a revolving fan on the machine draws the seed cotton 

 through a tube and into a hopper. 



"Other mechanical pickers entangle the seed cotton 

 by means of innumerable, sharp, tack-like points im- 

 bedded in narrow revolving belts, which are directed 

 by human hands into contact with the open boll; the 

 lint is instantly entangled and borne along the re- 

 volving belt to the hopper, where it is removed by 

 brushes." 1 



140. Ginning. After the seed cotton is harvested 

 it is immediately hauled to the gin where the lint is re- 

 moved from the seed. The ginning outfit includes an 

 elevator for sucking the cotton through a cleaner which 

 removes trash and dirt. Damp cotton should be al- 

 lowed to dry before being ginned; otherwise the gin 

 will break a large percentage of the fibers. Ginning 

 usually costs the grower a dollar to a dollar and a half 

 per bale. 



141. Types of cotton gins. There are two principal 

 types of cotton gins, the saw gin and the roller gin. The 



1 Duggar, J. F., " Southern Field Crops," p. 365. 



