PICKING COTTON.

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nery, as a certain amount of intelligence must direct the hand.Here, the cotton seed is put into the ground in April, andthe ridges are made from three to seven feet in width, accord-ing to the poverty or richness of the land. The plants aresingled out from one foot to three feet apart on the ridges ;and in rich land they form strong shrubs, which sometimesrise to the height of eight feet. The stem and branches ofthe short staple cotton are killed every year, in the SouthernStates, by the frosts of winter, and the crop thus requires tobe planted annually. The lower branches are the first toput forth blossoms and to bear ripe pods, containing the fibreattached to the seeds, which open out of the husks, andappear as round balls of snowy whiteness of the size ofapples. While the lower branches are bearing ripe cotton,the upper are putting forth fresh buds and flowers, whichripen seeds at a later part of the season. As soon asa negro can pick from forty to fifty lbs. of cotton from thehusk in a day, harvesting commences. The “ picking ”season usually begins about the middle of August, and oftencontinues until the 1st of January. Frosts, however, frequentlykill the plants in November, and the yield of cotton is dimi-nished, as they would grow all winter were the temperaturesufficiently high.

As soon as the cotton is picked from the plants, it iscarried to the gin-house, and, if dry, ginned at once; ifnot, it is spread out in the sun. Whitney’s saw gin is nowuniversally used for separating the fibre from the seed of theshort staple variety of cotton, and though a simple machine,its invention gave a great impetus to the culture of cotton inthe United States. It is often driven by a 6mall steam-engine, but more frequently by mules. It consists of a drum,on which a series of circular saws are fixed, and the edges ofthe saws enter a hopper, into which the cotton in the seed isput. The saws are tightly fitted, and the drum, whichrevolves rapidly among the seeds, pulls off the cotton fibre,which is swept from the teeth of the saws by a brush, revolv-ing at a still greater speed than the saws. The cotton fallsfrom the gin as loose and as pure as snow. It is thenpacked into bales, which weigh about 400 lbs. each, and in