368 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
matresses in the State in which any man lives who will 
invent one that will perform the work well, provided he 
does not live in Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas. In that 
case, he can choose another State. 
With due respect, &c., W. P. Ford. 
Cheneyville, Parish of Rapides, La., Oct, 1857. 
WHITE EUPIN— MECHANICS AND AGRICUE- 
ture, &c. 
Editors Southern Cultivator— For some time I have 
been thinking of experimenting with the White Lupin as 
a renovator upon our flat lands, but cannot get the seed. 
Be kind enough to inform me where I can get the seed 
and also its price. The White Lupin and Spurry are quite 
popular on the continent of Europe as reclaimers of land. 
I do believe that the Lupin, in particular, would be of 
great advantage to us, as our soils are more or less ferru- 
ginous. This plant delights in penetrating a close, com- 
pact subsoil with its long loots, and forcing from it the 
inorganic elements that our crops need so much. 
It seems to me that the mechanical department is too 
much neglected by our agricultural periodicals. I have 
read a great deal about the making of cotton in the differ- 
ent journals, but have not seen the first line upon gin- 
ning of cotton. 
What proportion ought there to be between the band- 
wheel and cog-wheel to attain the greatest amount of 
speed 1 What ought to be the length and width of the 
band to correspond with the whirl upon the gin and band 
wheel '? And then the materials of the cogs, their thick- 
ness and distance apart are ali matters of great import- 
ence to the speed of a gin. 
There is, too, the screw equally indispensable to the 
farmer as the running gear, and not a word have I seen 
about its construction. What species of wood is the most 
durable for the pin and taps? and what ought to be the 
width of the threads on the pin so as to cause the screw 
to descend with the greatest haste and at the least expense 
of horse power ? 
While your Philips, your Harmon and other Agricul- 
tural High Priests are giving forth their experienced ut- 
terances, upon the culture of cotton, let us also have a few 
plain articles upon the principles involved in the struc- 
ture of screws and running gear ; for I know of no labor 
of the farm that is heavier upon the horse than the gin- 
ning of our cotton. p 
Mt Carmel, Abbeville DisL, S. C., Oct, 185?! 
[Any person having seed of the White Lupin will con- 
fer a favor by making the fact known through our columns ; 
which are also open to all who wish to communicate in- 
formation of general interest on Agricultural implements, 
machinery, &c. — Eds,] 
THE PROPER PREPARATION OF COTTON 
for Market. 
The greatest economy in the gathering and preparing 
any crop which is produced, is essential to insure the 
proper profits to the planter. He may have fine lands, 
propitious seasons, and all the incidents to successful pro- 
duction, but if the most careful attention is not bestowed 
upon the gathering of his staples, he is no better off in the 
end than he who tills poor lands, and carefully husbands 
and protects its products. From the moment a crop is 
matured it demands, therefore, strict attention, and no 
labor is better paid than its preservation and protection 
from depredation. If all the cotton which is produced 
was saved and properly brought to market, it would 
swell the production to a degree unthought of by those 
who do not look strictly into details. If this, which is not 
regarded by the larger producers of cotton as essential, is 
a fact, how much is lost to the planters by the careless and 
bungling manner in which the staple crops are prepared 
for market? We do not hazard a great deal in saying, 
that from this alone plan' ers suffer more than from even 
short prices, and all other depressing causes combined. 
Nor do we assert anything but truth when we say, that 
these lessons to the planters of South Carolina v/ould pay 
their taxes more than four times over. 
The careful picking and ginning of cotton is most es- 
sential. Nothing pays better than attention to these two 
operations. A good cotton gin should be secured, and 
attention paid to the manner in which the ginning is per- 
formed. The condition of the cotton should be perfect. 
If it has been properly sunned before put in bulk, and se- 
curely housed against the effects of damp, it will be in such 
order that the lint will be thrown from the brush wheel in 
a feathery, fleecy state. If the gin is in proper condition 
the staple will not knap, nor will the fibre be cut by the 
saws. Knapped cottons, and that which is cut by the 
saws, always sell for less than even dirty cottons, which 
are well ginned, from the fact that the manufacturers 
have the proper machines for cleaning it of ihe dirt and 
leaf left in it; but when the fibre is once destroyed, its 
value is in the like manner impaired This exemption 
from injury can only be properly secured by having both 
the cotton and gin in perfect order. An overseer should 
not only be a capable judge of these things, but he should 
be able to remedy any defects which may occur in the 
working of the machinery of the motive power which 
drives the gin, as well as the gin itself. The Georgia and 
Alabama cottons are prefarred in our shipping markets, 
not on account of the superiority of their staple, but mere- 
ly because they are well ginned. In packing cotton, six 
ropes should be used to each bale ; for if one should break 
here are always a sufficient number left to secure thet 
bale from bursting. The rope, too, is seldom an expense 
to the planter, as it usually brings as much as it costs, and 
hence he can afford to apply it without stint. If six ropes 
are used, the sowing of the bales on the side with twine 
can be dispensed with; for with close packing the bag- 
ging will meet, and even if it does not, there can be no 
wastage at the sides. From the mode in which cottons 
are packed in the screw boxes in layers, the wastage 
oraly occurs in the top, bottom and ends. The heads of 
the bales should be securely and properly sewed up with 
twine in the best manner, After the bale is turned out, 
avoid the common custom of exposing it to the v/eather. 
If it is worth gathering, picking and packing for market, 
it certainly is worth protecting from the weather. If 
these particulars are strictly attended to, the cotton crop 
would bring the producer from one to two cents per 
pound more than it does when prepared in a careless and 
indifferent manner . — South Carolina Agriculturist. 
CORN STARK CUTTER. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — Believing it to be the 
duty of every farmer of our country to contribute his mite 
for the benefit of his fellow man and to impart all informa- 
tion that would be of service to the cause of agriculture, I 
thei’efore send yon a description of a Roller and Cutter 
that I constructed last fall for the purpose of preparing 
land that was foul for the plow. This Cutter, for corn 
stalks or weeds of any kind, acts like a charm. I 
have never tried it on cotton stalks, but believe it will act 
if your land has not too many stumps or loose rock. The 
Stalk Cutter is 8 feet in length— that is the Roller. I select- 
ed a straight black walnut 18 inches in diameter; knocked 
off bumps and bark with a foot adze ; banded each end 
with iron, as you would wagon hubs, to keep them from 
sun cracking; I then placed a gudgeon of 1 1-2 inch iron 
round ; squared 6 inches with beards cut on it where 
it goes into the end of the Roller, leaving 4 inches out of 
