﻿2 BULLETIN LL35, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



KINDS OF BALES. 



At present there ore five distinct typos of bales: Flat, standard or 

 railroad compressed, high density, round, and winner's compress. 

 The first three are of frequent occurrence, while the latter two have 

 varied in amount of use. 



Flat bale. Most of the cotton ginned in this country on saw gins 

 is put up in the form of a rectangular package known as the flat bale. 

 (PI. 1, Fig. 1.) This bale has a density varying from 12 to 15 pounds 

 per cubic foot. It is covered with all the different types and grades 

 of burlap, has six ties or hoops, and varies in weight anywhere from 

 300 to 750 pounds. 



Standard or railroad compressed hale.— The standard or railroad 

 compressed bale (PI. I, Fig. 2) is made by applying great pressure to 

 the ordinary flat bale from which the ties have been removed and 

 to which patches have been added to cover the cuts in the burlap 

 where samples were drawn. Pressure is applied only to the top 

 and bottom of the bale, thus allowing the cotton to spread slightly 

 sidewise and endwise. This spreading and the speed with which 

 the bales are handled make a very irregular package. A well-organ- 

 ized crew of press hands may compress as many as 120 bales per 

 hour. The density of this type of bale is from 22 to 28 pounds per 

 cubic foot and varies with the amount of cotton in the Dale. The 

 bale has usually eight ties when it leaves the compress. 



High-density bale. — After the ties have been removed and patches 

 added to cover the cuts in the burlap where samples were drawn, 

 the flat bale is placed in the press, the side doors are raised, and 

 steam pressure is applied to the bottom or movable platen. The 

 cotton is compressed between the top and bottom platens. As the 

 side doors prevent any side spreading of the bale, the cotton can 

 spread only endwise. The addition of the side doors makes the 

 high-density bale (PI. II, Fig. 1) more uniform in shape than the 

 standard bale with the same pressure. High-density bales are 

 compressed at a much slower rate than are the standard density 

 bales because of the use of the side-door attachment, the rate being 

 about 70 bales per hour for the high-density compared with 120 

 bales per hour for the standard density. 



It is an easy matter to detect the high-density bale because of 

 its much more uniform shape and because of the nine ties fastened 

 by a high-grade buckle. The high-density attachment is used when 

 cotton is to be exported or shipped by water. The density of the- 

 baic is from 28 to 40 pounds per cubic foot, varying with the amount 

 of cotton in the bale. 



Round bale. — The round bale (PL II, Fig. 2) is made by taking the 

 loose cotton from the gins and winding it in a continuous sheet 

 around a core and at the same time applying pressure through other 

 rolls, thus making a very compact cylindrical-shaped bale of small 

 size. This bale averages about 250 pounds in weight, has no ties, 

 and is usually covered with a higher grade of burlap than any other 

 type of bale with the possible exception of the Egyptian bale. The 

 density per cubic foot averages about 35 pounds. This bale does 

 not have an extensive domestic distribution, but some foreign 

 firms specify this type of bale when ordering cotton shipped from 

 this country. 



