4 BULLETIN 1445, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
This commissioner must be a technical expert, and he is charged 
with the duties of licensing gin inspectors, teaching proper methods 
of operation to ginners, and, where necessary, compelling operation 
to meet certain standards. 
GIN PLANT OWNERSHIP 
Cost of ginning in terms of the value of the cotton is small. It is 
often less than the value of the time lost by a grower in waiting for 
his turn, so he goes where he gets the quickest service. The impor- 
tance of proper ginning has not been realized because of lack of 
proper discrimination in cotton buying. Originally, planters owned 
their own gins, but the increased cost of a modern well-equipped gin 
makes this prohibitive except in the case of the very large planter. 
The trend is decidedly toward custom ginning in large establish- 
ments located in trade centers. There are approximately 20,000 gins 
(Table 1), and the number known to be cooperatively owned is less 
than 100. 
BALING AND WRAPPING 
Baling and wrapping are for protection and economical handling. 
They are usually thought of as a part of the ginning process, but 
technically they are separate processes. Three kinds of bales are 
being made by the presses located at the gins. The most important 
is the square plantation bale of about 121/2 pounds density per cubic 
foot. This bale weighs about 500 pounds and when it leaves the gin 
press its dimensions are approximately 54 by 27 by 45 inches. It is 
generally wrapped in a coarse openweave jute bagging, which never 
completely covers the sides and often not the ends of the bale. The 
usual weight of the bagging is about 12 pounds. The bale is tied 
with six narrow steel bands which weigh about iy 2 pounds each. 
The gin-compressed bale is made in the same width and length of 
box as the plantation or flat bale. It weighs the same but is pressed 
to about twice the density and is tied with seven bands. 
The round bale is made by winding the lint as it comes from the 
condenser on a core about 4 feet long. The round bale weighs about 
250 pounds and is completely covered by a closely woven bagging. 
A round-bale press has recently been used extensively in Texas and 
Oklahoma without the hard core in the center and with an even pres- 
sure throughout the bale. About 150 of such presses were in use in 
1924. Cotton in the round bale is in a continuous roll and can be 
handled easily in the factory. The weight of the tare (bagging) on 
these bales is approximately 2y 2 pounds. 
Table 1. — Active ginneries in the United States, and average number of run- 
ning bales, excluding linters, ginned per active establishment, 1919-1922 
Year 
Active 
ginneries 
Average 
number of 
bales ginned 
per active es- 
tablishment 
1919... 
Number 
18, 815 
18,440 
16, 192 
15,420 
Running bales 
602 
1920 
720 
1921 
493 
1922 
631 
United States Department of Commerce, Bulletin No. 153, p. 37. 
