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EDITORIAL. 
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ORIA 
MECHANICAL COTTON-PICKER. 
Replies to recent inquiries made by the Instituté of Science and 
Industry as to the development of a cotton-picking machine in the 
United States of America suggest the likelihood of its adoption in the 
not-distant future. Mr. Mark Sheldon, Australian Commissioner at 
New York, writing in February last, stated that he had been impressed 
with the general feeling thai cotton-picking machinery was now passing 
through the developmental stage, just as harvesting machinery had 
done, and that ultimately a mechanical device would be perfected 
which would be found to work economically. Dr. N. A. Cobb, Agri- 
cultural Technologist to the United States of America Bureau of Plant 
Industry, who some years ago was Vegetable Pathologist to the New’ 
South Wales Department of Agriculture, has interested himself in this 
matter, and expresses the opinion that there is no doubt that machinery 
of this class is being improved and is becoming more practical. From 
time to time during the last ten years he has had the opportunity of 
seeing cotton-pickers in the field as well as demonstrated theoretically. 
At the present time, however, he advises that such- machinery must 
still be regarded as more or less in the experimental stage. Cotton to 
be picked by machinery will have to be adapted to the machine in 
the method of culture, of growth, and ‘also of variety. He thinks that 
Australian-grown catton will probably be dirtier than American-grown, 
other things being equal, on account of the nature of the soil and 
climate in Australia giving rise to a greater amount of dirt and dust 
than is common in the cotton belt of America. One of the characteristics 
of machine-picked cotton thus far is that it contains more trash than 
good hand-picked cotton. It is unlikely that for a long time to come 
cotton-picking machines can be used advantageously on the highest- 
priced cottons, such as Sea Island, Egyptian, and other high-priced 
long-staple varieties. From recent developments, Dr. Cobb states, it 
would seem to him that if Australia attempts cotton-growing, it would 
be best to make a specialty of the higher grades. If this proved to 
be sound advice, he adds, cotton-picking machines would be of less 
importance than otherwise. 
IMPROVEMENTS OF MECHANICAL DEVICE. 
Mr. G. 8. Nathan, of Perth, who is a member of the Executive of 
the Institute of Science and Industry, during a recent visit to the 
United States of America, also endeayoured to obtain first-hand informa- 
tion regarding the development afid utilization of mechanical cotton- 
pickers. Statements with which he was furnished indicate that with 
‘the abundance of negro and Mexican labour in the United States, 
comparatively little attention has been given to the problem of picking 
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