His tools were poor.
He made better ones.
No wire could be bought in Savannah.
So he made his own wire.
Mrs. Greene and a Mr. Miller were the only persons allowed to come
into his work-shop.
Day after day the children wondered to hear the queer clinking and
hammering.
They laughed at Mr. Whitney.
But that did not trouble him.
Before the end of the winter the machine was nearly perfect.
Its success seemed certain.
Mrs. Greene was very happy over the work.
She was eager that people should know about this wonderful
invention.
She could not wait until a patent was secured.
A patent is given by the government.
It is given to prevent others from claiming an invention.
Often it keeps people from manufacturing the article without the
permission of the owner.
So Mrs. Green invited a party of gentlemen from all parts of the
state to visit her.
These gentlemen were taken to see the machine do its work.
They were greatly astonished.
For what did they see?
This curious little machine cleaned the cotton of its seed.
And it would clean in a day more than a man could do in months.
They went to their homes.
They told everybody about it.
Great crowds began coming to see it.
But they were refused permission to do so.
This was because it had not yet been patented.
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