Opposed to the various types of roller gins is the " saw gin," invented by Eli Whitney, an American, in 1792.
Since about 1875 the Russians have fostered the industry, introducing American Upland varieties, distributing seed free, importing gins, providing instruction, and guaranteeing the purchase of the crops.
Moveable gins were tried for a time in some places; they were dragged by traction engines from farm to farm, like threshing machines in parts of England, but the plan proved uneconomical because, among other reasons, farmers were not prepared to meet the cost of providing facilities for storing their cotton.
A Mr Clegg, who afterwards interested himself keenly in the activities of the Cotton Supply Association reported that in the course of a tour in 1855 through the Eastern countries bordering on the Mediterranean he had found none of the gins presented by the British government at work or workable.
The city is situated in an agricultural and cotton-raising region, and has cotton compresses and gins, cotton mills, cotton-seed oil refineries, foundries and machine shops, and furniture and wagon factories.