DURANGO COTTON IN THE IMPERIAL VALLEY. 5 
store his seed cotton; but if he does not have at least two wagons so 
that one or the other may be always in the field to be filled with cot- 
ton as the pickers gather it, he should have tarpaulins or building 
paper spread on the ground so that the cotton miay be emptied on 
them as it is picked. This method will keep the cotton clean and also 
will protect it from the dampness of the ground. 
One cotton plantation in the valley has had installed at its local 
railroad station an automatic loader, driven by: a gasoline engine, 
for use in transferring the seed cotton from the wagons to the cars. 
Attached to this machine is a cleaning device, and when the cotton 
is conveyed by suction from the wagon to the freight cars it is 
drawn over a grating through which fall the leaf and other impuri- 
ties. This process of cleaning the cotton before it is ginned has been 
found to be of considerable value, as it not only serves to blow out 
the dust, but also removes enough leaf to raise the cotton in grade. 
Besides this arrangement for increasing the grade of its cotton, the 
plantation is very careful in picking and handling it, and the increase 
in price which it secured for cotton during 1915 should satisfy any 
farmer as to the importance of giving the very best care to the han- 
dling of seed cotton. 
GINNING DURANGO COTTON. 
It has been difficult to impress upon the ginners in the Imperial 
Valley the importance of ginning the Durango long-staple cotton 
smoothly and free of neps.. The importance of proper handling and 
ginning of cotton, especially in long-staple districts, can not be over- 
emphasized. <A good staple produced from pure pedigreed seed, if 
ginned green or damp or with gin saws running too fast, may be 
damaged in value from $5 to $25 or more a bale. On the basis of 
recent investigations by the Department of mee iculture the following 
suggestions are offered : 
All cotton should be thoroughly dry before it is sanical Tt is not 
possible for the ginner to turn out from green or damp cotton a good, 
smooth sample free from gin cutting and nepping. 
Gin manufacturers agree that a reasonable speed of the saw shaft 
does not materially affect the quality of ginning, provided the brushes 
remove the lint from the saw teeth. It has been shown, however, that 
a proper speed is from 325 to 375 revolutions per minute on a 12-inch 
saw and from 375 to 425 revolutions per minute on a 10-inch saw. 
Brushes should always be kept in the best condition and should 
pe set so that the bristles reach to the bottom of the saw teeth. 
The speed of the brush should be from 1,500 to 1,600 revolutions | 
per minute. Whenever possible a brush driven independently of the 
