How A Cotton Gin Works

In this video, Matt visits with James Wages of Farmer's Gin of Humboldt to see how a modern cotton gin separates the seed, fiber, and trash from cotton that was mechanically picked by a cotton picker. See how far the modern cotton gin has come from the first cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney in 1794 that revolutionized the cotton industry.

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[MarvinStroud]

My friend Bill Gibbs worked in gins during the summer to put himself through school in winter. Bill now has a PhD in Physics. Good Going, Bill.

[noahkleugh]

Great show! It illustrated the complexities of one of the essential industries in the country. I used to live in Lubbock TX where cotton was THE industry of the area.

[bruceb]

A LOT different from the gin my Grandfather took his cotton to in Tillatoba, MS in 1955. I picked for 2 cents per pound in 1955. All I remember about that gin was seeing the finished bales, which my Grandfather said weighed about 400#. I do not think there was any equipment for separating seeds and lint, as is seen in this video. Being all hand picked at the time, there were no hulls in the cotton. The cotton was taken to the gin in an open top, expanded-metal wire-sided trailer, about 8' wide x 20' long x 6' high on 4 wheels, and was pulled behind a farm tractor or a pickup truck. The compressed bales back then were wrapped in burlap, and then banded. Those finished bales back then were nothing compared to the clean, clear wrapped bales in this video. That gin in Tillatoba was heavy-timber framed, with galvanized tin sides and roof. It collapsed from deterioration about 15 years ago. THANK YOU for a most interesting video!!

[woodstock]

Thanks, very interesting to someone that grew up on a cotton farm in Lincoln, Co., TN. 70 years ago. I have ginned many bales from a wagon containing one bale, hand picked. My grandfather had a gin in Ardmore, TN./AL. with cotton warehouses. The last of the warehouses, long since used as cotton, burned two years ago. But, his old cotton scale at his gin is in use today for other purposes.. Thanks

[fractode]

One of the most interesting videos on YT! 👍

[kerrykrishna]

That was amazing to watch. This dude knows EVERYTHING about his plant! Thanks for putting this up Matt.

[MajesticDemonLord]

Me, an IT Guy with no personal or professional interaction with Cotton:

"Fascinating, please tell me more"

(whilst also taking another look at the T-Shirt I'm wearing and having a new-found appreciation for it's manufacture)

[robertwilliamsjr.]

I was raised in a gin in NE La., . My dad hauled the seed to the oil mill, cotton to the compress, and by-products, cottonseed meal/hulls for cattle feedback from the oil mill....most rural gins are closed now. huge co-op gins gin the cotton now.. after ginning season we hauled bale cotton to the wharves of NewOrleans, and to the textile mills in the Carolinas...I've done about everything you can do...plant/harvest/tromp the trailers, run sucker pipe, pull trailers, work the press..haul to compress...the scariest thing were the fires...evey now and then...

[tavaramirez]

This was amazing. My grandfather worked in gins during and after the depression and war. He was in Texas, Oklahoma, and I think Tennessee. My mother remembers going with him and could tell me how it worked, but I had no mental image of it before now. She also remembers when he was the only one working during the depression and how dangerous it was. He would have loved seeing how it has changed.

[Charles]

This brought back a lot of memories ! I was a ginner in West Texas in the late 80's early 90's. Running old Continental Gin stands, where you had to monitor the seed roll continuously. Modules were a treat to gin, considering 99.99% was all trailered cotton and suction tubes. Bales were hand bagged and tied with wire. Our gin may have been small, but we were proud that it could gin 12 bales an hour all day long when conditions were right. Lots of memories of those days ! Thanks for taking me down memory lane !

[josephlacour]

I was led to this video by a study of slavery in the south where I grew up. I'm brokenhearted over the atrocities of our beginnings but I'm impressed by the modern industrialization of the process. More of us need to know. And be humbled. Keep growing responsibly, y'all.

[powellmountainmike]

My grandfather owned a cotton gin in Eutawville, SC. I remember in the early 1960 when the cotton picking machine first came into use. I also remember the days before that when cotton was picked by hand, and school kids would help bring the crop in to make a little spending money. My grandfather used a mule and wagon to move the bales from the baler to the railroad car on the siding next to the gin, and to carry the seeds from the hopper to the other railroad car.. That was where I learned to drive mules.

[bradleysmith]

Awesome video Matt. Explained the gin process very well . I wish this video and other videos towards agriculture were a requirement for our younger generation to watch in schools.

[samanthamurdock]

Fascinating! Love Electric Upgrade!!! In addition the cotton looks so clean!!! Nice Plant thanks for tour!!! Best Wishes!!!

[dennisconrad]

That was very interesting. Having never been around cotton, the whole ginning process is really impressive.

[lesliebarnes]

Thanks so much James and to Wages farm. We were talking about Eli Whitney’s cotton gin and I went looking for how they worked. Realize this is much more high tech, but your video was fascinating for this city kid!

[setac]

Glad you posted this. I grew up in Crockett County. Daddy grew lots of cotton. I worked in the fields every summer until 1969. I have handpicked it, hoed it, cultivated it with 2 row, 4 row and 8 row equipment, driven a picker. Everything is more automated today. I've been to Humboldt many times, but not lately. Thanks for posting.

[FiiZzioN]

As someone that lives right next a gin, this really helped explain what was going on at the neighbors about 3 months out of the year.

[SteveHolsten]

I miss the great money I made ginning cotton during my ginning seasons between 1978 - 1994. My best year was in 1981 when we ginned 17 hours a day for about 7 straight weeks. On a good day; we were able to gin 10 bales an hour in the antique 1948 Murray Gin. I made $499.99 for 7 straight weeks. It was so aggravating needing just one penny to get to say I made $500 paychecks. They brought us dinner & supper from a local cafe during those long hard days. This was at the Hollywood Gin that was about 4 miles east of Arbyrd MO. This is where I learned to become an Assistant Ginner.

[williamgibb]

Very interesting! Never saw the process described so well. Thank you. I prefer cotton over other products thanks to your hard work. Stay safe, healthy and happy. Have a good year, my friend.