ted. But,
given a complete series of machines for preparing and spinning, the
cotton industry (see COTTON MANUFACTURE) must have remained
unprogressive without the co-operation of cotton growers, for by the
then existing methods of separating cotton lint from seed it would have
been impossible to provide an adequate supply of raw material. By
inventing the saw gin, Eli Whitney, an American, in the year 1792, did
for cotton planters what Paul, Arkwright, Crompton, Cartwright, Watt and
others did for textile manufacturers, for he provided them with the
means for increasing their output almost indefinitely.

PLATE I.

[Illustration: FIG. 10.--BLOWING ROOM.]

[Illustration: FIG. 11.--CARDING ROOM.]

(_From Photographs taken in a Manchester Fine Cotton-spinning Mill, by
R. Banks._)

Plate II.

[Illustration: FIG. 12.--JACK-FRAME ROOM.]

[Illustration: FIG. 13.--SPINNING-ROOM.]

(_From Photographs taken in a Manchester Fine Cotton-spinning Mill, by
R. Banks._)

[Illustration: FIG. 1.]

[Illustration: FIG. 2.]

_Cotton-ginning_ is the process by which cotton seeds are separated
from the adhering fibres. The most primitive machine employed in India
and China for this purpose is the churka, which consists of two wooden
rollers fixed in a frame and revolving in contact. Seed cotton is fed
into these rollers and the fibres pass forward but the seeds remain
behind. It is a device which does not injure the fibres, but no
improvement has been found by which the churka can be converted into a
sufficiently productive machine for modern requirements. In a modified
form Whitney's saw gin is still used to clean a large portion of the
annual crop of short and medium stapled cottons. It consists of from
60 to 70 saws (A, fig. 1), which are mounted upon a shaft and revolve
between the interstices of an iron grid (B); against this grid the
seed cotton is held whilst the fibres are drawn through, the seeds
being left behind. The operation is as follows:--seed cotton is fed
into the hopper (C), and conveyed by a lattice (D) to a spiked roller
(E), which regulates the supply to the hopper (F). Whilst in (F) the
cotton is engaged by the teeth of the saws (A), and drawn through the
grid (B), but the bars are too close to permit the seeds to pass. A
brush (G) strips the cotton lint from the saws, after which it is
drawn through a flue (H) to the surface of a perforated roller (I) by