Patent for a new and improved cotton press. This design "consists in the combination of a shaft which is journaled upon the top of the press-frame, and provided with a driving-pulley, a clutch which is feathered upon the shaft, and which is operated by a lever which projects in the line of travel of the beater, a drum provided with a ratchet, a spring-pawl, and the brake by which the descent of the beater is controlled" (lines 13-21).