Abstract: In a cotton harvester, a pair of fork assemblies are mounted between the ends of the basket for independently rocking about a fore-and-aft extending pivotal axis. A separate hydraulic cylinder operates each fork assembly to compact the cotton against the side of the basket and to selectively hold a substantial portion of the cotton in the basket during dumping. The cylinders are plumbed in parallel so that uneven loads can be compressed with substantially uniform pressure from the front to rear of the basket.

Abstract: An arrangement of parallel fingers within the head of a cotton stripper is twisted in response to the operation of a pair of supporting cylinders disposed between the head and a vehicle frame to which the head is pivotably mounted to vary the heights of the opposite ends of the arrangement of parallel fingers in response to height sensors mounted at the opposite ends. The parallel fingers are mounted on an elongated tubular structure which extends between and is attached to the opposite ends of the head and which twists in response to the action of the cylinders and the weight of the head to twist the normally planar arrangement of parallel fingers. Transversely mounted stalk walker and feeder shafts in the region of the fingers are journaled in universal bearings at the opposite ends of the head to permit distortion of the head and twisting of the arrangement of parallel fingers.