Historic, archived document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. ie = In Cooperation with the Clemson Agricultural College DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1148 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTU Washington, D. C. February 1, 1923 COMPARATIVE SPINNING TESTS OF SUPERIOR VARIETIES OF COTTON (GROWN UNDER WEEVIL CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES; CROP OF 1921) By Witu1am R. Meavows, Cotton Technologist, and Witu1am G. Buatr, Specialist in Cotton Testing, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Page. | Page. ISHED OSGIOR GCSES o-oo anes ae wee nee ib Percentages Of wastes. 4. s4-e eeee eee 2 Importance of pure varieties. ........-..----- 1 Moisture CONGIGLONS = ns es poe tn ee eae 3 Varieties of cotton tested ---....------------- 2) Breaking: strength ofyarms._s-5-era-ae + Orroamorene COMmOMcss = soos sace se sane tae Zi PErrec lanl Gy, Olay ann Soe eee ee ee eae 5 Classification of the cotton..........--------- 2 | Manufacturing properties...........-......-.- 5 Mechanical conditions. ....-...---.---------- ZA aS aMmMany ss Sse le ease: Senos ne Be 6 PURPOSE OF TESTS. The spinning tests herein described were conducted to determine the relative spmning value of cotton commercially thought to be of superior character with that of a number of pure strains of superior varieties of cotton. All were grown under boll-weevil conditions in the southeastern cotton States during the season of 1921.1 IMPORTANCE OF PURE VARIETIES.? Pure stocks oi cotton seed produce larger and better crops because all of the plants in the field are alike, while in mixed stocks many oi the plants are degenerate and unproductive and the lint is mixed and therefore of mediocre value. The use of pure seed means larger crops and better fiber. The fiber from pure stocks is better not only because of its greater length or strength, but also because the fibers are more uniform, which is the first essential of high quality in cotton fiber. Good cultural conditions simply give pure seed an opportunity for the expression of the full possibilities of the variety. By superior varieties we do not necessarily mean long staples. There are superior short staple varieties as well as superior long staple varieties. Superiority consists of uniformity—uniormity of plants, uniformity of fruiting habit and of fruit; all of which results in uniformity in the length and in the character of the cotton, the most valuable spinning qualities to be had. Pure seed is the first essential to a superior fiber. 1 These spinning tests were conducted under the general supervision of William R. Meadows, cotton. technologist, and under the direct supervision of Wiliam G. Blair, specialist in cotton testing, who was assisted by H. B. Richardson, C. E. Folk, and E. S. Cummings, assistants in cotton testing. The tests were made in the textile department of the Clemson Agricultural College, Clemson College, S. C. 2 From a paper read by G. S. Meloy, investigator in cotton marketing, at the conference of the cotton division, New Orleans, La., June 23, 24, 25, 1920. . 27782 °—-23—Bull. 1148 yu BULLETIN 1148, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. VARIETIES OF COTTON TESTED. The following varieties were tested: Acala, Lone Star, Mexican Big - Boll, Rowden, and typical North Georgia. All of the cotton was obtained from men of reputation for their plant-breeding work, with - the exception, of the typical North Georgia cotton, which was bought from a prominent cotton merchant as typical “‘ North Georgia” cot- ton. This type of cotton always commands a premium over other cotton of the same grade and length of staple. ORIGIN OF THE COTTON. The Acala cotton consisted of 7 bales grown near St. Clair, Lowndes County, Ala.; the Lone Star consisted of 4 bales grown near Fay- etteville, N. C.; the Mexican Big Boll consisted of 4 bales grown near McFarland, N. C.; the Rowden consisted of 4 bales grown near Monroe, N. C.; and the typical North Georgia cotton consisted of 4 bales bought from a merchant in Athens, Ga. The exact origin or history of the typical North Georgia cotton is unknown, except that it came from that region known commercially as typical ‘North Georgia” territory. ~ CLASSIFICATION OF THE COTTON. Samples of cotton from the different bales were classed by a com- mittee of the board of examiners. This committee is authorized to class cotton at the future exchanges under the provisions of the United States cotton futures act. The results of this classification are shown in Table 1. TaBLE 1.—Classtfication of the cotton of the different varieties, | | Length | Length Variety. Grade. leet fama Variety. Grade. of | staple. || staple. } | | | | | | Inches. | i Inches AIGA Ae koe s Snio EE Mid dlings2 ss s5-- 1 || Mexican Big Beil.-.-- | Strict Middling. - -| Middling ses. 1y; | | Good Middling....| 1 Mid dlings =. 225 1ys | Good Middling....) 1 full. Midd@ling 2.2.2 2 1 || Good Middling...., les Middling* + Y.* 14; full. Row den =. eee Good Middiing....| 1 fuil. IMiddlin gasses. }14; full. || Good Middling.... 14 Strict Middling. . .| 1; full. t Good Middling. ...| Pe Wone Stakes ser eea- Middling.-.42-2. 4 ly | Good Middling.... ls Middlin gas. 5-2 4- | lys | Typical North Georgia| Strict Middling..-| 1 full. Strict Middling... 1ys || Strict Middling. - -| 1; Good Middling.... Iss || Strict Middling..- -| ree Striet Middling-. | Its MECHANICAL CONDITIONS. The five different varieties of cotton were run under identical mechanical conditions, which conformed to common mill practices for the grade and length of staple used. PERCENTAGES OF WASTE. Accurate weighings were made of the net amount of cotton fed to and delivered by each cleaning machine and of the net amount of waste discarded by each. From these weighings the percentage of visible, invisible, and total waste were determined. The percentages of waste for each variety are shown in Table 2. COMPARATIVE SPINNING TESTS OF COTTON. 3 TasLE 2.—Percentages of waste from the different varieties of cotton. : Typical Acala. Fone ee Rowden.| North 4 8 ‘ | Georgia. Gini yaaa leepdepeeeen ie aempinee cs Ap RePOp OEE bey ie! slag Midi SoM. ~ | Ge | G@aMe Sine: engi morstaple Gmehes)) 7.92% 2 5 = ets sae lis 1; | 1 full.... 14; lts Picker waste: @ Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.| Per cent. Opener-breaker motes and fly......-..----- SL eae 1.31 1. 26 . 86 3 .74 Pinishenmotesiand fy... 2 2. S)..025. saeeesc ae: 1. 44 EL 91 - 80 85 GLAU ES ae pe ae ae ie me hy eae 2.75 2.37 Tesiho nidlabe 1.59 Tnivisiples.; 52). 3-44-5..-//s05 Sat eee eae eee ete . 68 . 4 1. 03 1. 21 1. 03 Total visible and invisible...........--.--+--.- 3. 43 2.91 2. 80 2. 87 | 2. 62 Card waste: 5 IB HSGCLPS see aes ase alee ona eee eS. 55 2.70 2. 58 2.51 2. 32 2. 30 Cylinder-angd dosier Strips: =. >.< <=- 954. aee- nos ce ae 1. 02 . 98 1. 00 7 . 86 VSS (108 1 13 yell eee ela eet OR dil eli 1. 96 | 1.65 1. 47 1.32 1. 60 MAVeeD Ines eee he et ed Le £8 See. Se: - 05 ait - 10 07 | 07 Motalowisible:.. 3. 2.2324 % woye UEC Wee Pies -5.73 5. 32 5. 08 4,44 4. 83 ETVASUD) CFs te se dase ra oe pao ge ee = yee tee ee . 83 pl . 29 . 83 .47 Total visible and invisible...........2.22.----- | 6.56 5.44 5.37 5. 27 | 5.30 Pickers and cards: @ Motalevisibles= 52 Sons Soe Na. eee eer ee 8. 28 7. 5A | 6.71 5. 97 | 6. 29 ROU AIITNVISTO Le trees hae cores ue oo, Saree er ana ate 1.48 65 1.31 2. 02 | 1. 49 Total visible and invisible..............-.----- 9.76 8.19 8.02 7.99 | 7.78 | | I a Based on net weight fed to bale-breaker. b Based on net weight fed to cards. Table 2 shows that the percentages of total visible waste discarded by the different varieties of cotton, closely followed the grade when comparing the pure strains of cotton. MOISTURE CONDITIONS. The different varieties were run under as nearly identical moisture conditions as possible. Outside weather conditions caused higher relative humidities in the picker and card rooms than were desired. A relative humidity of 50 per cent was desired in the picker room, 60 per cent in the card room, and 70 per cent in the spinning room. Actual conditions which prevailed while the cotton was being ma- chined are shown in Table 3. These averages were obtained from readings of self-recording hygrometers equipped with electric fans. TABLE 3.—Average temperatures and relative humidities during tests. | ; : | Mexican i Typical Acala. Lone Star. | Big Boll. Rowden. North Georgia. | Process. ; Ga a a a | Rel. | Rel. | | Rel. | | Rel. Rel. } | > ae | jana Temp. | inv. Temp. hum. | -e™p- NEHA. Temp. | hum | ee —— | Per. | Per | Per Per I) Per OOH cent. oe eih Cem ae cent colli. cent OO Cerne When opened....... te 77 78 Tecate: OU Ei 67 83 7 80 71 Finisher picker. .-.-- 7 71 77 | 73 | 84 65 79 69 82 | 69 Cards ope 3s - : 7 61 81 | 65 | 83 62 84 64 84 62 Drawing frames...) 7 COs OMe AA yr 262) a>. 8h) 62-1). B41 65 |) 184 62 Roving frames. ....- | 78 | 66 83 | 64 | 80 61 83 62 | 85 | 64 Spinning frame...... 84 | 71 85 71 | 36 70 86 70 | 86 7 | Samples for moisture tests were obtained at different periods during the day from the different manufacturing processes. The averages of these moisture tests are shown in Table 4. * « “f BULLETIN 1148, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. TsBLE 4.—Percentages of moisture regain in cotton at the different manufacturing processes. Meaeu! Typical Sample. Acala. Love Big | Rowaen.| North pee eae Olle Georgia. | | | | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.| Per cent. | Per cent. (Pron balesees. see oon eee eee eee ae erie: | 7. 81 8, 47 8.78 9. 20 ieinisher pickeblapiz- 2 2 o2- 8 ene he a eae 7.52 | 7. 64 7. 87 6. 92 8. 78 WapyiromtbacksOnCard = 82555 = eee eee ee | 7.01 | 7. 36 7.42 7.10 & 21 ANG ESLE VEL eee eee ee er ae ee eet 6. 74 | 6. 90 7.10 6. 84 Gerth ibimisherdrawim? Sliver 2250000 ewe oe Pe eee 6.66 | AD, Co2T 6.38 7.61 incurameroving. (0) so Pea eRe ee | 6.96 | 6.97 6. 62 6. 62 G25 Fine frame roving from creel of spinning frame...... 7.47 | Talo io 2h 7.40 Warnlitom Spinning frame = 26 see ee aoe ee ee rel 7. 84 7. 64 | 7. 38 | 7.48 | (543° The difference between the percentage of moisture in the bale and in the card sliver corresponds closely with the total percentage of invisible waste obtained trom the pickers and cards. Whenever cotton in process is subjected to a given relative humidity and temperature for two hours or more, the cotton assumes the moisture regain of that relative humidity and temperature. The variation in moisture regain of the varieties is due to the different hygroscopic properties and the moisture in the bale of each variet iehieatara: the differences in the moisture content (see Table 4) of the finisher picker lap and the lap from the back of the card, and the fine frame roving and the fine frame roving from the creel of the spinning frame are accounted for by the fact that the relative humidity of the picker room averaged 70 per cent, the card room 60 per cent, and the spinning room 70 per cent. BREAKING STRENGTH OF YARNS. The cotton of each variety was spun into 28’s, 36’s, and 44’s yarn with twists equal to 4.25, 4.50, and 4.75 times the square root of the number spun. The average breaking strengths are shown in Table 5. These averages have been corrected for slight variations in the sizings of the yarn. TaBLE 5.—Breaking strength mm pounds per skein of 120 yards of yarn spun from the different varieties of cotton. 1 New | No. of yarn. Draper | multi- | Acala. Lone | Mexican | Rowden. | { | | Twist | Types Stand- ] q | Nort ae plier. Star. Big Boll. | | Georgia. Pounds. | Pounds. | Po unds. | Pounds. 62.6 | 68. 1 | 64. 4 57.2 62. 9 | 67. 2 | 62. 9 56. 2 61.3 | 66. 3 | 63. 1 55.9 | [ee 62/3") (67.2 1) eas 56. 4 { ! } 45. 6 | 48. 6 | 44.6 40.5 43.7 | 46.8 | 44.0 39.9 43.8 | 46. 4 | 42. 6 39. 8 | | | Average. | ADO i 44. 4 | 47.3 | 43.7 40.1 | | BS i gS RAO OR 44 4. 25 | 38.7 33. 7 | 36.3 34.9 25.2 4.50 | Bary 33. 9 | 33.7 | 33. 8 25.9 4.75 | 37.2 32. 8 | 33.3 33.1 25.6 ee ago) PMas Behe hand eriee, ead 25.6 COMPARATIVE SPINNING TESTS OF COTTON. 4) The different varieties arranged in the order of their strength values, after allowing for the difference in the length of staple of the cotton, are as follows (strongest at top of list): A f IRREGULARITY OF YARNS. Mexican Big Boll.. Lone, Stat. -<4.. +1!» Roweer. .:-..25-34- Typical North Georgia. ey equal. oo The irregularity of the yarn was determined by calculating the average deviation of the sizings and breaking strengths per skein of 120 yards. , Table 6 gives the percentages of average deviation in the sizings per skem of 120 yards. TaBLe 6.—Irregularily or average deviation in the sizings of the yarn. | : _s Typical | No. of Lone Mexican : = us \cala ates : Rowden., North | yarn Star Big Boll. | Georgia. | | Per cent.| Per cent. | Per cent.| Per cent. | Per cent. 287s . 2. 02 2.02 2-11 | 2.01 4 1.94 36’s. 2.06 2.06 2.18 1.79 | 2.10 44s. 2.40 1.87 2.16 | 2.17 1.81 Table 6 shows that the yarns made from the different varieties of cotton were practically equal in evenness. Table 7 gives the percentages of average deviation in the breaking strength per skein of 120 yards. TaBLeE 7.—Irreqularity or average deviation in the breaking strengths of the yarn. Typical | No. of Lone Mexican Mi Acal: “i ; Row Ste IN | yarn. Acala | Star. Big Boll. Rowden Gann. | | Per cent.| Per cent. Per cent.| Per cent.' Per cent. | 23's | 4.54 | 12 4,72 4.72 3. 74 Laas ie. (Ac 5r [173.86 5.00) | 3.98!) 3:86 | 44's | 4.58 | 5. 30 Deel 5. 70 6, 29 | The different varieties arranged in order of evenness of strength -are as follows: 1. Lone Star. 9 dis 2H SSC OE SS SS SS ae (Typical North Georgia. . 3. Rowden. 4. Mexican Big Boll. bequal. MANUFACTURING PROPERTIES. No difficulty was encountered in running any of the varieties, all showed excellent spinning qualities. 6 BULLETIN 1148, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. SUMMARY. The cottons tested were from the crop of 1921, and consisted of the fiber of the following varieties: Acala, Lone Star, Mexican Big Boll, Rowden, and of typical cotton of the kind commercially known as “North Georgia.” The Acala cotton was grown in Alabama, the Lone Star, Mexican Big Boll and Rowden were grown at different points in North Carolina, and the typical North Georgia cotton was grown in “ North Georgia.”’ All of the cottons were tested under identical mechanical conditions. The grades, lengths of staple, percentages of visible waste, strengths of the yarns, and percentages of average deviation or irregularity of the sizings and strengths as shown in Table 8, indicate that for hard twisted or warp yarns the varieities tested if placed in order of their merit and attractiveness from a spimner’s viewpoint would fall in the following rank: [Acalare 2 te tes ' \Mexican Big Boll. “fequal. Lone Stare Uy Vicwdes SE Ee sequal. 3. Typical North Georgia. = TaBLE 8.—Grades, lengths of staple, percentages of visible waste, strengths of the yarn, and percentages of average deviation of the sizings and slrengths of the yarn. aici Typical Acala. | eee Meme a. Rowden. NE aS | Georgia. Grade: Mirror Si eat ee ROE abe) MAG. ask” (Soa. G. ME. G. M. S: M. WenechtonscapleyCMmeChes) aes a aes ae ae 135 | ls 1 full. 1 i Percentage of visible waste. ..........- 22229-11208 | 8.28 | 7. 54 6.71 | 5. 97 6. 29 Strength of yarn in pounds per skein of 120 yards: | | DSW eT RPO EOL, SNe eh eae iF 702 5 62.3 67.2} — 63.5 56.4 Ge NE La Os MRE SiG. as fepn Saha a gO | 49.9 As. 4 47.3 43.7 40,1 ZA a aS i Be 2! a al a Ye er ise | 38.2 33.5 34.4 33.9 25.6 Percentage of average deviation or irregularity of siz- ing of the yarn: } DBISREDS HINA Baten es SRG. Selo REL TN Pes Sets. 2. 02 2. 02 2.11 2.01 1.94 SO Se epee na enema Licialan Mites iok Oly ts ae a ge oe] 2. 06 2. 06 2.18 1.79 2.10 Be Sa eter Wee eas 2m ce P Sys raha ae ea oa aon et ame ee 2. 40 1.87 2. 16 2.17 1.81 Percentage of average deviation or irregularity of | | strength of the yarn: reise ea eb Seva ee ee RE Ae eel a ae Teen Cee A 4. 54 3. 72 4.72 4.72 3. 74 SOUS Se ET Teer aed en fate Sc, FMR, S20 aN era Sefer 4.5 3. 86 5. 09 3. 98 3. 86 AEE Sy cia eet pa te OR Se Oh ie i in he le 4. 58 5. 30 5. 27 5.70 6. 29 These tests show clearly the desirability, from a spinning stand- point, of fiber produced by purebred strais of superior varieties of cotton over that produced from commercial seed even when grown in districts in which the reputation for-character in cotton is excellent.