COTTON HARVESTING 



369 



The bales are covered with heavy coarse cloth or " bag- 

 ging." One of the greatest wastes connected with the 

 growing and marketing of cotton in the United States is 

 the failure to use a sufficient amount of bagging and of a 

 quality suitable to prevent the staining of the outer layers 

 of the staple with mud and dust. 



The amount of tare (or weigM of bagging and ties) which the 

 trade is supposed to allow is 30 pounds on a 500-pound bale ; 

 but only on a few bales do the bag- 

 ging and ties weigh this much, and 

 these are penalized or " docked " ; the 

 interest and influence of local buyers 

 is in favor of a light or deficient 

 covering. A general improvement in 

 the amount and quality of covering 

 of the bales of American cotton, 

 which are now more poorly protected 

 than those from any other part of the 

 world, would, in time, redound to 

 the profit of both the farmer and the 

 spinner (Fig. 160). 



The round bale, on the other hand, 

 is usually covered very completely 

 with cotton cloth, which affords 

 satisfactory protection. Moreover, 

 the round bale is dense and requires 



no further compression. But for various reasons the round bale 

 has not been able to come into general use in the face of opposi- 

 tion in the interest of compress men and manufacturers of square- 

 bale presses. The round bale usually weighs about 250 pounds, 

 or half as much as the square bale. 



343. The cotton gin. — There are two main types of 

 gins, roller and saw gins. The former are used in ginning 

 Sea Island cotton, the naked seeds of which are easily 

 2b 



FlO. 160. FOKEIGN AND 



Amekican Cotton BalDs. 



Showing on the right the 

 inferior covering and torn 

 condition of an American 

 bale, in contrast with the 

 better covering of the foreign 

 bale on the left. 



