114 



Selections. 



[NO. $, NEW SERIES, 



quality ; and so much had the native manufacturers preferred it 

 that little had reached Lancashire. 



A deputation from the Manchester Commercial Association having 

 waited on the Directors of the. East India Company, 5,000 bales of 

 the best and cleanest cotton from American Seed were to be pur- 

 chased, and shipped to this country, that English Spinners might 

 have an opportunity of testing its qualities, in comparison with 

 American Growth. 



Thus has the American Saw Gin been advantageously applied 

 in India ; and it may also be applied in Tropical Africa, where in- 

 digenous cotton exists ; — or wherever a favourable climate admits 

 of the seed being cultivated ; for it is upon the power, continuous 

 motion, and expedition of the Saw Gin, accompanied by the Screw 

 Press for baleing it, that free labour must depend for success ; 

 and, where the more productive climate of the Tropics affords so 

 much larger returns than more temperate regions, there is every 

 reason to expect successful competition with slave labour. 



ROLLER AND SAW GINS. 



A short explanation of the Roller and Saw Gins may enable 

 their application to be better understood. The Roller Gin, com- 

 monly used in India, consists of two pieces of round hard wood, 

 about | to f of an inch in diameter, fixed horizontally into an upright 

 frame, and turned by an endless screw, or oblique cogs, by means 

 of a crank-handle ; so that any cotton presented between the two 

 rollers is drawn through, and the seed not being able to pass, flies 

 off. It so happens, however that the cotton of one seed gets en- 

 tangled with that of another, especially if small, (as some of that 

 of India is), whereby some seeds get pulled through, mixing with 

 the wool, and staining it from the oil crushed out by the pressure. 

 This process is slow, and drags much of the dirt of the field along 

 with it ; though it is supposed to hurt the staple less than the 

 Saw Gin. A model of this Roller Gin may be seen in the East 

 India Company's Museum, among those of oriental imple- 

 ments. When seeds are covered with a thick down, the process 

 is too slow to allow even fine cotton to be freed from the seed by 



