18 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [CHAP. £ 



consists of a number of thin wheels, the edges of 

 which are cogged or toothed; but perhaps the term 

 " sawed " is more expressive, as the teeth are sharp, 

 pointed downwards, and act like a saw. These circular 

 saws are to separate the Cotton wool from the seed. 

 The larger gins contain sixty circular saws, which are 

 turned round by cattle machinery. The process of 

 separation is thus performed. Each thin circular saw 

 passes in every revolution through a corresponding 

 narrow grating,* so narrow indeed that whilst the 

 wool passes through with the saw, the seed is cut off 

 by the grating and left behind. The Cotton is accord- 

 ingly placed in a trough or hopper above the saw 

 wheels. The wheels as they turn round carry away 

 the Cotton, and as they pass through the grating 

 they separate the wool from the seed. Meantime a 

 cylinder surrounded with brushes revolves in an op- 

 posite direction, and not only brushes away the wool 

 from the saw wheels, but cleanses it from all impuri- 

 ties. The attempts which have been made to adapt 

 this machine to Indian Cotton, and to invent some 

 other Cotton cleaning machine, which should combine 

 the perfection of the saw wheels and brush wheel 

 with the cheapness and simplicity of the churka, will 

 be illustrated in the following pages. f 



The Thresher. — This machine was originally in- 

 tended to purify the seed Cotton from leaves and 

 trash prior to ginning ; for though the brush wheel of 

 the saw gin sufficiently cleaned the wool, yet it was 

 found that the gin worked more - easily if the principal 

 trash was thrown off prior to the submission of the 

 seed to the action of the saws. The thresher consists 

 of a large trough or hopper in which two or three 

 cylinders revolve, being turned round by the same 

 motive power which turns the gin. The seed Cotton 



* Description of Whitney's Saw Gin. Cotton Reports (1836), p. 

 430. Here, as elsewhere, the compiler has indicated the sources of 

 his information, though he has found it necessary to express himself 

 in totally different language. 



f A description of the Cottage saw gin will be found at para. 245, 

 accompanied by an illustration. This will be found sufficient to ex- 

 plain the principle of the American gin. 



