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 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR 
 
 BUREAU OF MANUFACTURES 
 
 A, H. BALDWIN, Ctttel 
 
 SPECIAL AGENTS SERIES-No. 58 
 
 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON 
 
 A STUDY OF PRESENT WASTEFUL A\ETHODS AND 
 CERTAIN SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT 
 
 JOHN M. CARSON 
 
 Cuaiti«fcla! Attat of tbt DefMtrtmeat of Commerce cod Isbor 
 
 TRANSMITTED TO CONGRESS IN COMPLIANCE VITH THE 
 ACT OF MARCH 4, 1911, AUTHORIZING INVESTIGATIONS OF 
 TRADE CONDITIONS ABROAD AND IN THE UNITED STATES 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICB 
 
 1912 
 
U, S, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR 
 BUREAU OF MANUFACTURES 
 
 A. H. BALDWIN, Chief 
 
 SPECIAL AGENTS SERIES-No. 58 
 
 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON 
 
 A STUDY OF PRESENT WASTEFUL METHODS AND 
 CERTAIN SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT 
 
 By 
 
 JOHN M. CARSON 
 
 Commercial Agent of the Department of Commerce aad Labor 
 
 TRANSMITTED TO CONGRESS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE 
 ACT OF MARCH 4, 1911, AUTHORIZING INVESTIGATIONS OF 
 TRADE CONDITIONS ABROAD AND IN THE UNITED STATES 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 
 1912 
 

 61- 
 
 D- CF' ^t 
 
^ 
 
 1> 
 
 LETTER OF SUBMITTAL 
 
 Department of Commerce and Labor, 
 
 Bureau or Manufactures, 
 
 Washington^ June 81, 1912. 
 Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith a report by Commercial 
 Agent John M. Carson on the packing and marketing of cotton. For 
 years criticism has been made of the condition in which American 
 cotton reaches foreign markets, and numerous efforts have been made 
 to effect the much-needed changes in methods of handling it. Mr. 
 Carson, in his report, sets forth the various factors involved and sug- 
 gests a solution of the problem, which is of vital concern to everyone 
 connected with the cotton industry. The Bureau issues this bulletin 
 mainly as suggestive of the great need for improved methods, and 
 the new system proposed by Mr. Carson is intended chiefly as a 
 tentative basis only for further discussion by those interests most 
 concerned. 
 
 Eespectfully, A. H. Baldwin, 
 
 Chief of Bureau, 
 To Hon. Charles Nagel, 
 
 Secretary of Commerce and Labor. 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 PRESENT METHODS. 
 
 INIeasured in dollars and cents, cotton is the most valuable of the 
 agricultural products of the United States, with the single exception 
 of corn. Cotton cultivation is confined to 18 States, including Ari- 
 zona, California, Kansas, Kentucky, and New Mexico, the output of 
 which five States is about 70,000 bales per annum. Corn is pro- 
 duced in all of the States. Both crops have reached vast propor- 
 tions in quantity and value and both are progressive. The corn crop 
 of 1911 aggregated 2,513,488,000 bushels, and the farm value is placed 
 at $1,565,258,000. The cotton crop of last year (1911) aggregated 
 16,250,276 500-pound bales, the total value of which is $1,000,000,000 
 and including the seed, $1,200,000,000. The annual production of 
 wheat is 650,000,000 bushels and its farm value, roundly, $600,000,000. 
 These three are our leading agricultural products and have supreme 
 importance in the domestic economics and in the industrial enter- 
 prises of the country. The two food products mentioned are in the 
 main consumed at home, only a little over 2 per cent of the corn crop 
 entering into export and about 13 per cent of the wheat, while 65 
 per cent of the lint cotton produced is sold in foreign countries. 
 These figures are presented to show the great value of the crops 
 named and their relative importance in the country's commerce, to 
 contrast the methods of preparing each for market, and especially 
 to give illustration and emphasis to the antiquated and wasteful 
 system that obtains in the preparation and transportation of Ameri- 
 can cotton. 
 
 COTTON COMPARED WITH OTHER PRODUCTS. 
 
 Corn, wheat, hay, sugar, tobacco, and all other products of the farm 
 are carefully and systematically prepared, inspected, graded, and 
 certified in accordance with established rules based upon sound, up- 
 to-date business methods, and are so wrapped and covered as to 
 insure against damage from frequent and rough handling, the vicissi- 
 tudes of the weather, and loss from mutilation and pilferings. The 
 care devoted to the preparation for and the transportation of these 
 commodities to market is incidental to intelligent, progressive, and 
 economical methods; but behind these is the powerful incentive that 
 is aroused by very active competition, an incentive that is in part 
 lacking in the case of cotton. The percentages of export of the sev- 
 eral products under consideration suggest a strong reason for the 
 inertia exhibited on the part of those engaged in the cultivation and 
 handling of the American cotton crop. Civilized nations must have 
 cotton to supply the necessities of their people and to meet the needs 
 
6 PACKING AND MAKKETING OP COTTON". 
 
 of their industries. The world's demands are measured by 20,000,000 
 bales of 500 jDounds each annually, and the natural increase steadily 
 advances at the rate of 400,000 bales per annum, keeping pace with 
 the world's material and moral advancement. 
 
 The United States furnishes approximately 75 per cent of the 
 world's requirements and must necessarily continue in that relation, 
 for the simple reason that no individual country or combination of 
 countries can change or prevent natural conditions that furnish the 
 United States with the advantages and facilities essential to the suc- 
 cessful growth of cotton required in the manufacture of fabrics to 
 meet cosmopolitan needs and habits. In these circumstances it is 
 apparent that all who want must come to the United States for cotton, 
 and necessity compels them to accept the product in such form as it 
 may be presented. If the spinners of Europe could obtain cotton 
 elsewhere in needed quantity and quality, they would not come to the 
 United States and accept the unsightly and antiquated package with 
 its wastefulness and loss, its fruitful sources for exasperating con- 
 tentions, and liability to expensive litigation. 
 
 INADEQUATE AND INSUFFICIENT C0\\ERING. 
 
 No commodity that enters into the domestic or foreign trade of 
 any country is so carelessly prepared and so inadequately covered as 
 American cotton. In the world's markets it is prized for its inherent 
 qualities and execrated for the slovenly manner in which it is pre- 
 sented, and this condition is universally admitted by those who culti- 
 vate it, as well as by those who are responsible for its preparation 
 and transportation. "We have in cotton a valuable commodity, the 
 growth of which is peculiar to the southern section of the United 
 States, and the possession of which is essential to the industrial and 
 physical wants of every civilized people; and although the demand 
 for it is constant and imperative, aggregating in value $1,000,000,000, 
 it receives less care than commodities of least value in the category 
 of commerce. The importance of cotton to the industries of this 
 country need not be recounted, but it is pertinent to recite the figures 
 that describe its importance to the nation. 
 
 COTTON A LEADING FACTOR IN FOREIGN TRADE. 
 
 In the calendar year 1911. cotton contributed $517,000,000 to the 
 volume of our foreign trade, to which should be added $42,000,000 
 for cottonseed products. In that year the value of animals, bread- 
 stuffs of every description, meat and dairy products, tobacco, fruits 
 and nuts (these several items including the principal farm products 
 entering into foreign commerce) aggregated $390,572,616. Iron 
 and steel and their manufactures constitute another large and valu- 
 able group in our foreign trade, $250,000,000 worth having been 
 sent abroad last year. The excess of exports over imports in 1911 
 was $559,459,516, that sum constituting the so-called balance of 
 trade. Combining the two groups above named gives an aggregate 
 of $640,000,000 in round numbers, which is about $81,000,000 greater 
 than the balance of trade. The cotton exported brought to the 
 United States in exchange $559,000,000, a sum about equal to the 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 7 
 
 balance of trade, and without which there would have been a balance 
 on the foreign side of the national ledger. 
 
 EXTENT AND VALUE OF THE COTFON CROP. 
 
 In connection with the matters that will be discussed in this re- 
 port the reproduction of a paragraph from Census Bulletin No. 114, 
 recently issued, and which is a summary of the report on the produc- 
 tion of cotton for the year 1911, will be helpful : 
 
 The quantity of cotton reported for the crop of 1911, with linters included 
 and round bales counted as half bales, is 16,109,349 running bales and is the 
 largest crop which the United States has ever produced. Expressed in gi-oss 
 500-pound bales, the crop amounted to 16,250,276 bales, exceeding that of 193 
 by 4,21i,.5SS bales, or 35.4 per cent; that of 1909 by 5,934,894 bales, or 5T.5 
 per cent; and that of 1904, the largest previous crop, by 2,570,322 bales, or 
 18.8 per cent. The average annual production of cotton for the five years, 
 1899 to 1903, was 10,055,003 bales, and for the five years 1907 to 1911, 12,706.823 
 bales, an increase of 2,651,820 bales, or 26.4 per cent. Some idea of the possi- 
 bilities of cotton production in the United States can be gathered from the fact 
 that these figures represented in 1911 the production of an area which is only 
 about one-eleventh of the total area of the counties from which cotton ginned 
 was returned. 
 
 Sea island cotton contributed less than 1 per cent to the crop 
 of 1911. The quantity of sea island produced was 119,293 bales, 
 which is the largest quantity for a number of years. The average 
 price of South Carolina sea island in 1911 was 23.73 cents; for that 
 grown in Georgia and Florida, 20.41. The falling off in the average 
 price of South Carolina is due to the comparatively low grade result- 
 ing from a severe storm early in the season, which damaged the crop. 
 The average price of Egyptian cotton at Boston for the six months 
 ended with March, 1912, was 18.75 cents. The average price of up- 
 land cotton ranged from 8.20 in 1902 to 14.69 in 1910. For the crop 
 of 1911 the average was 9.69 cents. 
 
 A commodity of such enormous value to the industries of the 
 country and of such paramount importance in the maintenance of 
 the national credit in the settlement of international balances, surely 
 should be handled and safeguarded in consideration of its gi'eat 
 merit and value, and in accordance with the advanced methods that 
 insure increased efficiency in production and the fullest measure of 
 economy in the preparation and conveyance of products to market. 
 Cotton is the only important commodity which has resisted the 
 progress of the age and which continues to enter the market places 
 in the form and garb of days prior to the Civil War. This condition 
 is generally recognized and universally deplored. Efforts have been 
 made by individuals, by associations, and by State governments to 
 bring about the much-desired change, but these have not been at- 
 tended with even a small measure of success. The cultivation and 
 marketing of cotton concern so many persons, involve so many inter- 
 ests, and extend over so vast an area that the radical change de- 
 manded in present methods is perhaps beyond the power of individual 
 effort or community of such effort to accomplish. The vastness of 
 the industry, its supreme importance, its great intrinsic value, the 
 opportunities that are offered to speculators, and the large profits 
 
8 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 that accrue to agencies that intervene between the ginnery and the 
 spinning mill combine to discourage and frustrate efforts on the part 
 of private enterprise to bring about a reform. The existence and 
 strength of these adverse conditions are recognized by all who are 
 engaged in handling American cotton, notwithstanding which the 
 admission is general that the inauguration of remedial measures is 
 demanded in the interest of the producer, who is deprived of the 
 reward to which his toil entitles him; the spinner, whose legitimate 
 profits are menaced by excessive cost and unnecessary expense; and 
 the consumer, who is obliged to pay a price for the fabric based upon 
 extraneous charges incidental to the unbusinesslike and wasteful 
 system in vogue. 
 
 HANDLING FROM FARM TO MILL. 
 
 Personal inspection of the methods of handling American cotton 
 between the farm and the mill can not fail to startle the business 
 man who knows the importance and value of economy in production 
 and whose activities are directed by systems evolved from experience 
 and perfected by the achievements of science and the general enlight- 
 enment of the age. These methods are maintained, not because mod- 
 ern and economical agencies are unavailable, but partly because of 
 indifference and partly because of opposition on the part of those 
 who profit by present conditions. The inadequate baling of the 
 product is not an irremedial condition but an incidental feature of 
 the present system. Cotton can be completely covered at the ginnery 
 and compressed to any desirable density. Brief recital of the first 
 handling of cotton — that is, its conveyance from the farm to the gin- 
 nery and subsequently to the compress — will give an idea of the anti- 
 quated, dilatory, and expensive methods that obtain. 
 
 The farmer or planter hauls his seed cotton from the farm to the 
 ginnery. When ginned the lint is baled by the ginner, who fur- 
 nishes bagging and ties, for which the average charge is $1. The 
 ginning and baling being included in one charge, naturally the ginner 
 uses the cheapest covering obtainable, regardless of appearance or 
 sufficiency. The lint cotton is compressed into a package known 
 as the plantation or flat bale. Jute bagging, much of which has been 
 previously used, sugar bags that likewise have had previous service, 
 and any other cheap material that can be readily obtained are em- 
 ployed by the ginner. From 1,500 pounds of seed cotton there will 
 be a yield of about 500 pounds of lint. The farmer may sell the seed 
 at current prices, which in recent years have averaged perhaps $23 
 per gross ton. The lint cotton may be sold to the ginner or be 
 removed by the farmer. Usually it is taken to the nearest city or 
 town and sold to merchants and buyers for local and other mills. 
 It is at this point that mutilation and spoliation of the bale begin. 
 Those to whom the cotton is offered inspect a sample to determine 
 its quality. Each sample pulled weighs from one-half to 1 pound, 
 and two or three holes may be cut and as many samples pulled before 
 the cotton is sold by the farmer. If purchased by a merchant for 
 future sale, or a buyer for immediate delivery the cotton is sent to a 
 warehouse or shed, and in absence of these means of protection it is 
 piled on the street adjacent to the business house of the purchaser. 
 
PACKING AND MAEKETING OF COTTON. 9 
 
 PULLING OF SAMPLES. 
 
 The merchant, who as a rule purchases for future sale, retains a 
 liberal sample, which is given a mark or number corresponding to 
 that previously attached to the bale, and which may be divided into 
 several samples to accommodate prospective buyers. The bulk of the 
 cotton is sent to the compress for recompression, and if not previously 
 sold for delivery is stored at the compress at fixed charges for ware- 
 housing, insurance, etc., the minimum charge being for one month. 
 The warehouse facilities are very limited and therefore the bulk of 
 the cotton awaiting sale and deliver}^ is massed on the streets in 
 so-called cotton districts, in inclosed areas destitute of covering, on 
 platforms at railroad stations and steamship terminals, some of which 
 are covered in whole or part by a roof but none of which is inclosed, 
 so that the property is without proper protection. Recompression 
 does not insure the bale not sold for delivery against further sam 
 pling, with resultant damage to the covering and loss of cotton. 
 
 The custom of pulling samples is strongly intrenched, first, because 
 of long usage; and second, because it is highly profitable to merchants 
 and factors. Its continuance is naturalh' desired by those benefited. 
 The buyer at points distant from production regards it with favor 
 because the sample furnished assists him in determining the quality 
 of the cotton or in confinning the judgment of his agent. The mer- 
 chant and factor and other intermediaries favor it because each 
 sample pulled has intrinsic value. The aggregation of these samples 
 at the close of the season forms a considerable portion of a bulk esti- 
 mated at 100,000 bales. This has become known as the " city crop," 
 and its average annual value is placed at $4,000,000. The income to 
 individual middlemen from sales of samples varies according to the 
 number of bales passed upon and " pulled." The " city crop " is said 
 to contribute largely toward pajang running expenses of many busi- 
 ness houses that raise or " pull " it. The statement has been made 
 that as many as 45 or 50 bales of cotton derived from pulling samples 
 have been sold at the close of the season by an individual concern. 
 
 CONDITION OF THE SMALL CX3TT0N FARMER. 
 
 Much loss is caused by this sampling to both small and large farm- 
 ers. The former class is numerous and contributes largely to the bulk 
 of the cotton crop. Whether a farmer with one horse or with four 
 horses, whether he cultivates 20 or 80 acres, his condition is the same. 
 If there be a ditference in gradation the condition of the latter is likely 
 to be more wretched than that of the former. This class is without 
 ready cash or property that might be used as collateral to obtain 
 money with which to begin and maintain the work of the season. 
 Therefore those constituting this relatively large class are from neces- 
 sity obliged to consult the merchant or factor, who agrees to provide 
 the means to enable the applicants to plant and cultivate a crop. The 
 advance is conditional upon the farmer cultivating a certain acreage 
 and producing a stipulated number of bales of cotton, usually one bale 
 for each $10 advanced. Furthermore, it is stipulated that the cotton 
 when ginned and baled shall be delivered to the creditor factor for 
 sale on commission, and $1.50 per bale commission is exacted on the 
 
 50166°— 12 2 
 
10 PACKIXG AND MAKKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 number of bales stipulated even if a less number be produced. This 
 stipulation is intended as an incentive to production and as an insur- 
 ance for the loan. 
 
 Under the agreement the merchant or factor furnishes the farmer 
 with supplies for his family, seed, fertilizers, and such other materials 
 as may be considered necessary within the limitation of the agreernent, 
 for which the charges are usually greater than the same supplies might 
 be bought for cash. Very little money is advanced. A high rate of 
 interest, rarely less than 8 per cent, is charged, the interest period 
 usually covering six or eight months. Charges for storage and 
 insurance begin with delivery of the cotton to the factor. When it 
 is sold an account is rendered the farmer, the debits including amount 
 of loan thereon, storage, insurance, drayage, commission, etc. The 
 weight of samples that have been pulled is, of course, so much loss 
 to the producer, and in addition to this loss deductions are made for 
 " country damage." In the final settlement the farmer is fortunate if 
 the cotton has discharged his obligations. Under this system it is 
 within the power of the factor to report the sale at a lower grade 
 than that negotiated, thus depriving the farmer of an amount vary- 
 ing from $1 to $5 per bale. Grading is complex and intricate, requir- 
 ing expert Imowledge, and in all cases the farmer who can not deter- 
 mine or recognize the difference between the grades is at the mercy of 
 the merchant and factor. However, classification is necessary and 
 helpful to all parties concerned and the service performed by experts 
 employed by the New York Cotton Exchange is generally acceptable 
 to the trade. The differences and relative values in gi'ades are 
 explained elsewhere in this report. 
 
 COST OF CONVEYANCE BALING jrETHODS. 
 
 The cost of convejnng cotton from the ginnery or point of first 
 concentration to the compress and from the compress to cars or 
 steamship is an important factor in fixing the price of cotton to the 
 spinner. Excluding loss in weight from sampling, country damage, 
 drying out, and other causes, the cost of convej^ance, ginning, and 
 recompression averages at least $5 per bale. The flat bale, 48 by 30 
 by 56 inches (fig. 1), is an irregular, bulky package, 25 of which 
 fill a 34-foot box car. ^\Tien recompressed 50 bales can be packed 
 in the same car. In consequence of this reduction in the size of the 
 bale and resultant economy in space, the railroad companies carry 
 recompressed bales at a lower rate than is charged for flat bales, and 
 discrimination is likewise made by steamships in favor of recom- 
 pressed cotton. Recompression reduces the size of the bale (fig. 2). 
 but does not materially improve its appearance or character as a 
 merchantable package. The jute covering furnished by the ginner 
 (6 or 7 yards, 44 inches wide, weighing If to 3 pounds per yard, 2 
 pounds being the usual weight) does not cover the flat bale. The cal- 
 culation is that recompression will reduce the package within the 
 dimensions of the covering. Upon reaching the compress the cover- 
 ing shows the results of sampling, the lint protruding from numerous 
 holes, and additional openings caused by the use of hooks in handling 
 are prominent, the covering being so flimsy and weak as to be unable 
 to withstand the pressure of handling. To cover these holes pieces 
 of bagging are laid on the top and bottom of the bale when it is placed 
 in the press. The work of recompression is so rapid (100 to 120 bales 
 
PACKING AND MAEKETIXG OF COTTON. 
 
 11 
 
 per hour) that little time or care can be given to adjusting the 
 patches, so that many bales emerge from the press with openings 
 through which lint protrudes. In many cases pieces of jute are 
 added merely to increase the weight of the bale and as an offset to the 
 claim for tare made by the purchaser. This is particularly true with 
 cotton intended for export. As previously stated, the service of the 
 compress consists solely in reducing the size of the package. The 
 bale is recompressed in the condition in which received, except for the 
 patches contributed to conceal lacerations, and goes forward for fur- 
 ther offering, sampling, and consumption, inadequately covered and 
 in unsightly form. 
 
 SECOXDTIAXD ]NrATERIALS UTILIZED. 
 
 Aside from the impairment of the package by cutting the covering 
 for samples, the use of secondhand bagging is contributory to the 
 ragged condition of the American cotton bale. If new jute bagging 
 were used on each bale, there would be complete protection and the 
 covering would resist much of the pressure incidental to handling and 
 which proves so disastrous to old bagging. AMiat proportion of the 
 crop is covered with old bagging is problematical. There are several 
 degrees of this secondhand covering. The mills at home and abroad 
 after stripping the bale collect and sell the covering, which is shipped 
 to persons in this country who deal in it and work it over for sale to 
 ginners and others. "When old bagging is received it is sorted, and, 
 conditions warranting, the pieces are sewed together. When a suffi- 
 cient number of yards is thus secured the material is made into rolls 
 and sold to ginners. Those pieces that can not be thus utilized are 
 torn up by machinery, converted into yarn, and woven into cloth. 
 This makes fairly good covering, but is not so strong as the original 
 material. After the first manipulation and conversion of the second- 
 hand bagging the output of each additional process is reduced in ten- 
 sile strength and yields to the slightest pressure. The mills produc- 
 ing this class of covering also supply the large compresses with pieces 
 of bagging, new and old, for patching. A large quantity of sugar 
 bagging is also used for baling cotton and for patching, all of which 
 is secondhand and much of which has been used several times. How- 
 ever, this bagging is usually a good quality of covering. 
 
 EXPENSES FROM EARM TO C03IPRESS. 
 
 The expense for conveying a bale of cotton from the farm to the 
 large compress for recompression is stated above to average $5. 
 That this is a conservative estimate is shown by statements of actual 
 expenditure furnished the writer by managers of large plantations. 
 Following is the statement of the manager of a plantation embracing 
 several thousand acres, located in Bolivar County, Mississippi : 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Hauling from farm to ginnery 
 
 $0. 75 
 2.00 
 1.00 
 
 .10 
 1.25 
 
 .25 
 
 Drayage. boat to compress 
 
 $0.25 
 .25 
 50 
 
 Ginning, 40 cents per 100 pounds 
 
 Bagging and ties 
 
 Insurance in Memphis, one month 
 
 Storage, one month 
 
 Insurance on farm 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 Total 
 
 
 Insurance on boat 
 
 6 85 
 
 
 
 
12 
 
 PACKIISrG AND MAEKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 Freight b}^ rail is the same as by boat, but there is no expense for 
 insurance or drayage when the carriage is by rail. It seems, however, 
 the water route is preferred for reasons given by the planter furnish- 
 ing the above figures, who stated : " We have the choice of rail or boat. 
 The latter is higher, considering insurance and drayage, but we prefer 
 the boat on account of receiving prompt service. We can load cotton 
 on the boat Saturday morning and have it in the warehouse at Mem- 
 phis Monday noon, whereas by rail it takes from 10 days to G or 7 
 weeks to land cotton in Memphis, even when shipped in carload lots, 
 wdien the season is on." 
 
 Another large planter furnished the following statement of cost 
 of conveyance from the plantation to the compress: 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Hauling to ginnery . 
 
 Ginning 
 
 Bagging and tics. . . 
 Freiglit to compress 
 
 Drayage 
 
 Insurance 
 
 $0.50 
 
 2.00 
 
 1.00 
 
 1.25 
 
 .10 
 
 .15 
 
 Weighing 
 
 Warehouse charges 
 
 Compression 
 
 Fees for patching.. 
 
 Total 
 
 SO. 10 
 .50 
 .50 
 .25 
 
 6.35 
 
 From a third source the following statement was obtained : 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amoimt. 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 
 $0.75 
 
 2.00 
 
 1.25 
 
 1.25 
 
 .15 
 
 
 $0.50 
 
 
 
 .50 
 
 
 Storage 
 
 .50 
 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 6.90 
 
 
 
 
 Commission for selling is not included in these statements, as com- 
 paratively little cotton is sold on commission. The charge for selling 
 is 2^ per cent and in many cases 3 per cent. Charge for commission 
 may be safely placed at a minimum of $1.50 per bale. The cost for 
 conveyance to ginnery and from ginnery to compress point varies 
 according to distance. For storage and insurance at the compress 
 warehouse the minimum charge is for one month. After the first 
 month the charge for storage is reduced to one-half the charge for 
 the first month. A charge for .patx3hing is made only when that serv- 
 ice is ordered by the owner of the cotton. In the first statement the 
 items given are those actually paid by the planter. In the others 
 the cost for freight is given as representing an average of cost for 
 that item. Deductions made on account of country damage and loss 
 by sampling are not taken into consideration in the above statements. 
 There is less from sampling, and deductions are made for country 
 damage, whether visible or not. These two items may be properly 
 included in the cost of handling and added to the totals above given. 
 They will average $2 per bale. The cost for commission where paid 
 and certain incidental charges average $2.50 per bale, making an 
 aggregate of $4.50 which should be added to the totals in the three 
 tables given above. 
 
 A comparative statement of the cost of handling cotton by the old 
 system and by the gin-compressed system has been made that indi- 
 cates a very material difference between the cost of handling the 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 13 
 
 ordinary flat bale from the farm to Liverpool and its sale in that 
 market, and the cost of handling the gin-compressed bale, the latter 
 being possibly one-half the former. 
 
 ILLUSTRATION OF BALING. 
 
 The condition of cotton under different methods of handling is 
 well shown by figure 3. No. 1 is a bale that has been ordered com- 
 pressed by a shipper, the order including patching with a sufficient 
 amount of bagging to cover the sample holes that were cut previous 
 to reaching the compress. It will be noticed that in the upper part 
 under the second band, some cotton is exposed, which indicates that 
 this bale originally was covered at the gin with the lowest grade 
 of jiite bagging, with approximately one-fourth inch mesh. 
 
 No. 2 is a bale that has been ordered compressed and patched with 
 secondhand bagging, which is bagging that has been stripped from 
 cotton at the mills in America and abroad and is returned to various 
 compresses for the purpose of using as patches. It is very often so 
 applied on order from the shipper, on account of its cheapness, to 
 fairly well covered bales, making what was originally a fair pack- 
 age one of very ordinary appearance. 
 
 No. 3 is a very long and wide spongy bale, the very worst character 
 to handle at the compress. The bale, although large and ungainl}^ is 
 exceedingly light and weighs considerably less than any bale shown 
 in the illustration. The more this bale is pressed the worse it 
 becomes, as it is wider and longer than the platens, or jaws, of a 
 compress, and it necessarily follows that the pressure in the center 
 bulges the package out at the sides. The original covering was of 
 an inferior character, and the bale was not ordered patched. It will 
 be noticed that the second upper band passes over the original sample 
 hole. The space where cotton shows between the third and fourth 
 bands is where, after the bale was compressed, the owner, desiring a 
 sample, cut the packing to obtain it. He then evidently sold the 
 bale to another buyer, who, to satisfy himself that the cotton was as 
 represented by the sample, again cut the bale at the point above the 
 lower second band. It is probable the bale was shipped just as it is 
 shown in the j)icture. 
 
 No. 4 is a standard box bale, with original poor bagging. It was 
 not ordered patched, which fact is in evidence, one of the lower bands 
 having passed over the original sample hole before compressing. As 
 was the case in No. 3, the owner desired a sample, possibly to forward 
 abroad, and after compressing cut the bagging below the first upper 
 band, leaving that part of the bale exposed. Whether or not the 
 bale will go forward in even as good condition as the illustration 
 shows depends entirely upon the owner, who may resell or resample 
 the bale two, three, or four times, each time cutting another hole and 
 drawing another sample. 
 
 No. 5 is an extremely wide bale, wider than the platens, and 
 weighing more than 600 pounds. It was ordered compressed without 
 patching, but had originally a side strip on each side. One of these 
 strips was applied to cover the side exposed to the camera ; the other 
 strip was used to cover holes on the opposite side of the bale. In 
 this case first one strip was used on each side, which was not suffi- 
 cient to cover the width of the cuts in the bagging, and therefore 
 
14 PACKING AND MABKETING OP COTTON. 
 
 the cotton is thoroughly exposed between the first and second and 
 second and third bands, and in the center of the bale, about the lower 
 portion between the second and third band, counting from the bottom 
 up. These holes are each about 1 foot in diameter. Attention is 
 directed particularly to the hole in the center of the bale. This was 
 evidently cut with a big jackknife in the country by the farmer, who 
 had his bale ginned, then dumped into a wagon at the gin and carried 
 to town, where it was offered for sale on the street. Having had his 
 cotton newly clothed at the ginnery the farmer cut this hole, drew 
 a sample, and " hawked " it on the streets for sale to the highest 
 bidder. 
 
 No. 6 is simply a bale of cotton ordered pressed without patching, 
 resampled by the owner, and the bagging at the upper end torn to 
 pieces. 
 
 No. 7 represents a bale ordered compressed and patched, and after- 
 wards resampled twice. 
 
 X X represent two gin-pressed bales that never have been sampled. 
 They are in evidence as almost perfectly packed, regarding dimension 
 and density, but the worth of packing has been destroyed by putting 
 on the most flimsy burlap that could be bought to cover this other- 
 wise acceptable package. Examination under a magnifying glass will 
 disclose that the bagging is about to fall to pieces. It will be shipped 
 in its present form. Each handling with hooks will tear the bagging, 
 and what could originally have been a model bale will no doubt 
 reach destination in a most deplorable condition so far as covering 
 is concerned. 
 
 A A represent two bales of compressed cotton that had originally 
 one sample hole in each. The owner ordered this cotton compressed 
 and afterwards covered with new, standard bagging. It will be 
 noted that the bagging applied to these bales, the patching from the 
 top to the bottom of the marking, is of better quality than the original 
 that shows just above each marking. But even at that, the bales rep- 
 resent what a perfectly compressed bale would be if standard boxing 
 were adopted in the country and cotton were perfectly covered. It is 
 highly probable that if these two bales were to encircle the globe and 
 have frequent handling they would reach their destination in prac- 
 tically the same form shown in the photograph. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL aiOISTURE COUNTRY DAMAGE. 
 
 The indifference exhibited in the proper care and safeguarding of 
 this great crop by all who handle it is inexplicable and unjustifiable. 
 Beginning with the farmer, it is treated as if immune to all climatic 
 changes and conditions and invulnerable to damage from any rough 
 treatment that may be encountered. The farmer will deliberately 
 place the bale on the ground, without any protection whatever, and 
 tor the avowed purpose of having the weight increased by moisture. 
 In furtherance of this purpose the cotton is often so placed as to 
 acquire the greatest amount of moisture in the shortest time, depres- 
 sions in the ground and similar locations favorable to the end in view 
 being preferred. Exuviation under fair-weather influences is almost 
 as rapid as absorption, so that the purpose of the exposure is not fully 
 realized, and as purchasers readily detect excessive artificial moisture 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 15 
 
 and make deductions for it, the farmer is liable to sustain loss rather 
 than secure profit from the deliberate exposure of his cotton. More- 
 OATr, it frequently happens that long exposure results in such serious 
 damage as materially to reduce the intrinsic value of the cotton. 
 
 The loosely packed gin-box bale, whose density is 10 to 12 pounds 
 to the cubic foot, will absorb a greater amount of moisture than the 
 more densely packed recompressed bale, and by reason of less 
 density moisture will evaporate more quickly in the case of the 
 former. 
 
 Many examples might be given of damaging effects of exposure. 
 One such example is furnished by the State of Georgia. Last year 
 that State grew a considerable quantity of cotton on its farm, which 
 is operated by convicts. The cotton after having been ginned and 
 baled was allowed to remain on the farm without protection against 
 the weather. In April last proposals were invited for the purchase 
 of the State cotton, in response to which a number of merchants 
 visited the farm for the purpose of making an inspection prelimi- 
 nary to offers to purchase. Inspection disclosed that the cotton was 
 damaged to an extent that made it necessary to unpack and spread 
 it out that the visible damage might be removed by picking and 
 that the remainder might be resuscitated by exposure to the sun 
 and wind. Not a single bid was made for the cotton by those who 
 were invited to purchase. 
 
 CAUSE AND EXTENT OF COUNTRY DAMAGE. 
 
 Country damage prevails to such an extent that it has become the 
 custom to consider reclamation on that account, and in purchasing 
 from the farmer the merchant usually deducts some points to cover 
 that contingency. One estimate places the loss to. the farmer on 
 account of country damage at $2 per bale. This form of damage is 
 inseparable from carelessness in handling after the cotton is ginned. 
 The farmer usually retains possession of the cotton after ginning 
 for a period of one to six months, during which time it is exposed 
 to the weather and is moved about over platforms, dragged over 
 fields and roads, at the convenience or to meet the necessities of 
 the owner. The bale being loo.-ely pressed and only partially cov- 
 ered, readily absorbs moisture and the lint, which is exposed by lack 
 of covering and obtrudes from sample holes, becomes discolored, 
 stained, impregnated with dust, and suffers other damage that affects 
 the commercial value of the bale. Much of the country damage is 
 claimed to be sustained while the cotton remains in possession of the 
 farmer or the merchant, and before it undergoes recompression. The 
 damaged lint is picked from the bale and is so much loss to the 
 owner. It sometimes happens that the country damage is so great 
 that the covering and ties are removed, the entire bale overhauled, 
 and the cotton repacked. Compression at the ginnery and covering 
 the bale completely with good jute or burlap would very largely re- 
 duce, perhaps entirely remove, liability to country damage. Figure 
 4 represents cotton removed from warehouse at Augusta, Ga., in con- 
 sequence of floods in April and May, 1912, and exposed for resuscita- 
 tion. This cotton had to be rebaled. 
 
16 PACKING AND MAEKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 SIGNIFICANT ACTION BY STEAMSHIP COMPANIES. 
 
 In connection with existing methods of sending American cotton to 
 market a movement on the part of agents in this country of steamship 
 companies engaged in carrying the product to EurojDe has signifi- 
 cance. Owing to the fact that in recent cases brought to trial the 
 ocean-carrying companies were held liable for damage to merchandise 
 for which a clean bill of lading was given upon its reception, steam- 
 ship owners instructed their agents to take the necessary steps to 
 guard their companies against this liability. Agents representing 
 practically all the ocean-carrying companies held a meeting at New 
 Orleans on April 16, 1912, and after full discussion and deliberation 
 <lecided that beginning September 1, 1912, the receipt of cotton at 
 ship side " in apparent good order and condition " would be strictly 
 interpreted, and that no clean mates' receipts, mates' receipts, or ocean 
 bills of lading would be issued for cotton which was not delivered 
 to the vessel entii-ely covered and free of all evidence of damage. 
 This action grew from the fact that it has been customary for the 
 companies to give clean bills of lading for merchandise received from 
 railway companies as well as individual shippers when there was no 
 visible evidence of damage. In suits to recover damages instituted 
 in this country and England it was contended by the companies that 
 they were not liable for damage that had evidently occurred before 
 the merchandise came into their possession. In each case the claim 
 was for country damage to cotton. It was held by the courts in both 
 countries that having issued a clean bill of lading the companies were 
 liable, upon the assumption that the merchandise was therein accu- 
 rately described. The meeting alluded to held at New Orleans was 
 participated in by agents of all ocean lines inlying between the 
 Atlantic and Gulf ports and those of Europe. Strict adherence to 
 this resolution would compel shippers to entirely cover cotton, other- 
 wise the documents issued by the ocean companies Avould be stamped 
 to show the actual condition of the cotton when received at side of 
 ship. 
 
 The action of the steamship representatives is set forth in the 
 following, to the strict adherence of which those attending the con- 
 ference obligated themselves and their respective companies: 
 
 That from and after September 1, 1912, the receipt " in apparent good order 
 and condition " will be strictly interpreted in regard to cotton or any other mer- 
 chandise, and that no clean mates' receipts, masters' receipts, or ocean bills of 
 lading will be issued for cotton which is not delivered to the steamer thoroughly 
 coveretl, free of evidence of damage, durably and legibly marked ; that on and 
 after September ], 1912, railroads will be required to deliver at the office of the 
 agent of the steamship line made a party to any through bill of lading, two (2) 
 certified copies of same within 72 hours after date api^earing on said bill of 
 lading ; the bill of lading must bear the steamship agent's contract number, 
 imder which issuance was authorized : no cargo on through bill of lading will 
 be forwardetl until after copies of bill of lading have been delivered to the 
 steamship agent. 
 
 OUTCOME OF CONFERENCE ON SHIPPING COMPANIES' ACTION. 
 
 Vigorous protest was made by cotton exchanges and exporters 
 throughout the country against the action of the steamship agents, 
 and at the instance of the New Orleans exchange a meetino; was held 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 17 
 
 at that city May 15 which was largely attended by representatives of 
 the several branches of the cotton industry. The sense of the meet- 
 ing was expressed in the following resolutions : 
 
 That it is the sense of this meeting that cotton should be properly covered, 
 with the ends sewed and the bale of proper density, and that we will lend our 
 efforts toward accomplishing this end; but we consider that a bale of cotton 
 with two uncovered Siimple holes does not constitute bad condition, such 
 sample holes being absolutely necessary for the proper conduct of the business, 
 and we believe the steamship agents have shown that claims due to open sample 
 holes have been frivolous and trifling. 
 
 That it would be impracticable and unnecessary to cover the sides of the bale, 
 from which source the steamship agents admit there is practically no damage. 
 
 It was further decided at the New Orleans meeting that a confer- 
 ence of all parties interested in the handling of cotton should be called 
 to meet at New York July 15. In compliance with this call upward 
 of 100 delegates met at New York on the date stated, representatives 
 being present from cotton exchanges, shippers, steamship and rail- 
 road companies, bankers, and insurance companies. After discussion 
 of the differences, a committee was appointed, which reported the 
 following as a compromise: 
 
 It is mutually understood and agreed that the description of the condition 
 of the cotton does not relate to insufficiency of or to the torn condition of the 
 covering, nor to any damage resulting therefrom, and that no carrier shall be 
 responsible for any damage of such nature, nor for any damage not caused by 
 its negligence. 
 
 This agreement, reported by the committee, was given unanimous 
 approval by the conference, and following September 1 the above 
 paragraph Avill be added to bills of lading of railroad and steamship 
 companies. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF A PRODUCER. 
 
 Mr. G. R. Hightower. of Jackson, Miss., a large producer of cotton, 
 in a discussion of baling and handling American cotton at the meet- 
 ing of the International Congress of Master Spinners' and Manufac- 
 turers' Associations held at Barcelona. Spain, in May, 1911, thus de- 
 scribed the manner of handling cotton in the United States while in 
 transit from gin to mill. The description applies particularly to the 
 product of small growers. 
 
 It is found by the buyer at the market place of the small town on the 
 grower's wagon. The covering is there cut by the small merchant or local buyer 
 and a sample drawn, and the bale is then thrown on the ground and weighed. 
 From this moment it is al)used, reweighed, resamjiled, weights padded and 
 grafted on in every conceivable manner, until it reaches the mill. The ground 
 is usually wet and the bale absorbs moisture, and after remaining on the ground 
 a few days exposed to the weather, the first buyer will probably have accumulated 
 enough cotton to attract a larger buyer, who collects larger' lots, and sells to a 
 buyer higher up or to an exporter. Many times it passes through a dozen hands 
 before reaching tlie exporter, and each time a new Siiniple is drawn. After 
 being bought by a larger buyer or exporter it is ordered to be shipped to the 
 large compress, and oftentimes lies on an open platform for weeks before being: 
 shipped from point of origin. This delay and exposure is particularly common! 
 during the rush of the season when tlie railroads are crowded. On arrival at 
 the compress it is more apt to find a place on an open platform than under a 
 shed. The averag* period of exposure after the bale is sold by the grower is 
 about six weeks, and it is during this time that 85 per cent of the country 
 damage occurs. The great trouble lies in the fact that the doxen of small 
 
 50166°— 12 3 
 
18 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 buyers who handle cotton have no facilities for taking care of it. anrl the ex- 
 porter is not prepared to protect it, hence it has a perilous journey after passing 
 out of the grower's hands and before reaching the mill. 
 
 LACK OF WAREHOUSE FACILITIES. 
 
 The farmer is not singular in this respect. The merchant is equally 
 careless and indifferent, but his action is in the main attributable to 
 inadequate facilities to protect rather than a desire artificially to 
 increase the weight by questionable processes. The fact that there is 
 great deficiency in facilities for proper storage and that it has long 
 been the custom to see cotton flanking the highways and massed at 
 convenient points for long periods of time, exposed to the weather 
 and offering temptation and opportunity for pilfering, has been 
 instrumental in creating a feeling of indift'erence and in contributing 
 to the belief that long exposure does not damage cotton. Therefore 
 merchants look with complacency upon cotton without shelter, and 
 when questioned will reply that rain and dampness add a certain 
 degree of moisture which sunshine and wind cause to evaporate and 
 leave the cotton without appreciable damage. Lack of proper 
 storage and systematic warehousing, like insufficient and inadequate 
 covering for the bale, is a natural result of the perpetuation of the 
 antiquated system of handling cotton. These adverse conditions are 
 primarily attributable to the absence of system and lack of organiza- 
 tion in this enormous industry. It has grown without the nurture 
 and aid that come and abide with organization. The world's neces- 
 sities have applied the propelling force, and this would undoubtedly 
 have been much greater, more efficient, and valuable with organiza- 
 tion as an auxiliary. 
 
 Mr. Harvie Jordan, of Atlanta, Ga., a cotton planter and otherwise 
 interested in the industry, in describing the lack of warehouses and 
 the consequent loss and damage, said: 
 
 The absence of adequate warehouses and shedding facilities at interior points 
 and at our ports is responsible in a great measure for the badly damaged con- 
 dition of lint when finally delivered to the mills for consumption. There is not 
 a single cotton-growing county in the Southern States which has ample or first- 
 class warehouse facilities for the storage of the crop until ready for sale and 
 shipment. There is not a single compress plant in the South with adequate 
 shedded platforms to protect the bales from the damaging effects of the weather 
 during the periods of congestion at such plants in the fall and winter months. 
 There is not a single cotton port in the South where cotton can be propeiiy 
 stored and kept from the damaging influences of rain, sunshine, and wind until 
 it Is loaded on the vessel. The majority of farmers who hold all or a portion 
 of their cotton crop on their farms until ready for market leave the bales lying 
 around on the ground, part of the time in the mud, without shelter and practi- 
 cally without any care whatever. In most of the interior markets the limited 
 warehouse space is soon filled, and the balance of the crop, when delivered at 
 such points, is stored on the streets or sidewalks or thrown on vacant lot's, 
 there to lie in the snow, sleet, rain, and mud until sold and routed to the big 
 compresses for recompression, when it goes through the same kind of neglect, 
 and then on to the ports for a continuance of such treatment. 
 
 Figures 5, 6, and 7 illustrate the m.ethods of storing cotton during 
 the busy season. They are reproduced through the courtesy of the 
 Cotton Publishing Co., of Atlanta, Ga, 
 
A PROPOSED SYSTEM. 
 
 How these conditions may be removed and modern business methods 
 applied to the cultivation and preparation of American cotton for 
 market are questions to which the attention of economists is being 
 directed and which are being earnestly discussed by men concerned in 
 the several branches of the industry. There is no dispute as to the 
 fact that the methods of producing and preparing American cotton 
 are wasteful, and there is practically a universal desire for a change 
 that will give promise of reformation. The time is opportune, at 
 least for discussing plans, and encouragement is found in the fact 
 that those actively engaged in the industry, from farmer to spinner, 
 are prepared to cooperate with and support any practical and feasible 
 system the application of which would secure the results desired. 
 
 The magnitude of the business, as heretofore explained, makes it 
 difficult and discouraging to individual effort, corporate enterprise, 
 or action by municipal or State authorities, a fact that is accentuated 
 by failure of such efforts. The inadequate covering of the bale, the 
 absence of proper care after baling, the cutting of the covering for 
 samples, the dilatory and expensive method of conveyance, and other 
 conditions that are deplored by the trade are the outgrowth of the 
 system in vogue and are inseparate from it. Efforts heretofore made 
 to bring about reform have been directed to treatment of these symp- 
 toms, little attention having been given the responsible cause. Mr. 
 G. E. HightoAver, of Jackson, Miss., previously quoted, states: 
 
 The dealers individually are not to be censured too severely for the waste, 
 the extravagance, and the abuse so common in the industry to-day, because no 
 individual can afford to provide a system of warehouses, warehouse keepers, 
 weighers, and shippers for the protection and proper handling of the cotton he 
 buys. No individual dealer handles more than a very small percentage of the 
 cotton in the territory where he operates, and the necessary equipment for the 
 proper care would cost too great an outlay to allow a profit on his business 
 should he provide it. It is therefore a necessity that the dealer should adapt 
 himself to the system in vogue and apply the method in the main used by others 
 in order to make money. 
 
 BALING AT GINNERIES. 
 
 Proper baling by completely covering with material that will insure 
 protection can be satisfactorily accomplished by compressing at the 
 ginnery, and this is undoubtedly practicable for the large percentage 
 of the crop that is grown under conditions of concentrated production. 
 Indeed, gin compression has been established at a number of points 
 in the cotton belt and on many of the large plantations, with highly 
 satisfactory results. A gin compress will take the output of a battery 
 of four or six gins. It turns out a bale of 500 pounds, 20 by 26 by 54 
 inches, or 18 by 30 by 48 inches, compressed to a density of 30 pounds 
 to the cubic foot, covered with clean, closely woven burlap, and bound 
 with seven steel ties (figs. 8 and 9). Thus packed at the gin the bale 
 
 19 
 
20 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 is ready for market. One of these gin compresses can be installed for 
 $1,500 to $4,500. There are several different makes of gin compresses 
 in operation. At a large plantation visited, located on the Mississippi 
 River and embracing about 9,000 acres, and on which two gin com- 
 presses are installed, it was stated that the weight of the burlap and 
 steel ties used, which constitut/e the tare, is 12 pounds. The bur- 
 lap covering measures 44 yards, is 46 inches wide, and weighs 16 
 ounces to the yard. The ties and buckles, seven in number, each 
 weigh 1 pound. Allowance is made for variations in the weights 
 given. The established tare on the bale recompressed at the large 
 compresses is 22 pounds for mills in Southern States, 24 for New 
 England mills, and G per cent, or 30 pounds, for foreign mills. The 
 tare on the Egyptian bale is 22^ pounds. This bale weighs approxi- 
 mately 750 pounds and carries 11 heavy ties. The tare of the 
 Indian bale, which weighs 400 pounds, is 9^ pounds. The latter is 
 48 inches long, 22 deep, and IT wide ; the former is 51 inches long, 31| 
 deep, and 22 wide. 
 
 RECOMMENDATION OF SPINNERS. 
 
 European exchanges adopted the 6 per cent tare in consequence 
 of the character and Aveight of the covering generally used in 
 the United States. Whether this tare is greater than it should 
 be is a disputed question, and one that gives rise to much irritation 
 and controversy. Investigations at Liverpool and other European 
 cotton centers show that while in individual cases the 6 per cent claim 
 is too high, on the whole it is rather below than above the average 
 weight of covering placed on American cotton sent to foreign markets. 
 There is little doubt that the Liverpool Cotton Association, which 
 is the leading and controlling exchange in Europe, and whose 
 influence is felt in the United States, would rescind the 6 per cent 
 rule and agree to purchase at net weight if the gin compress system 
 should come into general use. This is indicated by formal action 
 on the part of European associations in considering this question. 
 In 1907, nearly five years ago, at the conference held at Atlanta, 
 Ga., between a large delegation of the International Ct)ngress of 
 Master Cotton Spinners' and Manufacturers' Associations and lead- 
 ing cotton producers of the Southern States, after considerable dis- 
 cussion, the following resolution was adopted : 
 
 We condemn the bagging now in use; first, because of its rough and coarse 
 nature it invites rougli treatment; second, it does not hold the marlcs; third, 
 on account of its great weight and bullv it entails heavy loss in freiglit. We 
 therefore recommend the use of a light burlap or covering made of cotton, such 
 as osuaburg, 10 ounces weight per yard, 40 inches wide. We I'ecommend that 
 all planters, wherever practicable, put in as rapidly as possible gin compresses, 
 and in l)aling of cotton the Egyptian character of bale be adopted, the ties of 
 the Egyptian type, the weight of the bale 500 pounds, the density 3-5 pounds, 
 and the bale to be marked upon both ends with weight, grade, and staple. 
 
 At the meeting of the International Federation held last yesLV at 
 Barcelona. Spain, the question of purchasing net weight was dis- 
 cussed and the following resolution was adopted : 
 
 That this congress confirms the convenience resulting from the net-weight 
 cotton contract, and urges the members of each .atHliated association to buy at 
 least a portion of their cotton requirements on its l)asis, the congress being 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 21 
 
 of the opinion that only by tlie adoption of such contract the American cotton 
 producer can be induced to adopt the new system of baling and handling cotton, 
 as previously recommended by the International Federation. 
 
 The difference between various kinds of cotton bales is shown in 
 figure 10. On tlie left is an ordinary gin-box bale, weighing 476 
 pounds and measuring 55 by 30 by 41 inches; the density is 12 pounds 
 per cubic foot and the tare 20 pounds. Xext to it is an Egyptian 
 bale weighing 750 pounds and measuring 51 by 22 by 31 inclies; the 
 density is 37.3 pounds per cubic foot and the tare 22 pounds. The 
 third is a gin-compressed bale weighing 585 pounds and measuring 
 48 by 18 by 35 inches, with a density of 33.4 pounds per cubic foot 
 and tare of 10 pounds. The recompressed bale on the right weighs 
 595 pounds, measures 56 by 30 by 27 inches, has a densit}^ of 22,2 
 pounds per cubic foot and tare of 24 pounds. 
 
 ADVANTAGES OF GIN COMPRESSION. 
 
 It is apparent that the European spinners insist on the 6 per cent 
 tare as a measure of protection against the excessive weight of 
 bagging used in the United States. Continuance of the 6 per cent 
 rule is profitable to the exporter on this side of the Atlantic and to 
 the importer on the other side, but is not specially desired by either 
 the spinner or the producer. This view of the matter is sustained by 
 the fact that gin-compressed cotton is now shipped direct from the 
 ginnery to the merchant or spinner in Europe free from mutilations 
 incidental to sampling and free from the charges that attacli to the 
 old system. 
 
 The writer was shown an account current of a large Liverpool 
 house which gave a statement of the sale of 55 bales of gin-com- 
 pressed cotton shipped from Montgomery, Ala., by the Farmers' Com- 
 press & Warehouse Co. of that city, which may be properly intro- 
 duced here in part. The statement of account follows: 
 
 Nov. 10, To freight $1S2. 7;! 
 
 Liverpool dues 5. 44 
 
 Quay porterage y. 00 
 
 Stamping policy . 10 
 
 15, Cost of cable 1. S'J 
 
 18, Warehouse rent 1. 6S 
 
 Fire insurance 7. 09 
 
 Cartage and porterage 10. 01 
 
 Dec. 1, Commission 1 per cent 21. 46 
 
 Remittance 4, 021. 87 
 
 Total 4, 250. 5i 
 
 Nov. 28, Bv sale FOD 50 B/C. 
 
 Bv sale COT 5 B/C. 
 
 CJross 26, 606 lbs. 
 
 Tare and bands 643 lbs. 
 
 Not 25, 963 lbs. 
 
 Gross $4,252.25 
 
 FOD 8 B/C. 
 
 Country damage 3. 12 
 
 Balance on interest-- 1. 15 
 
 Total 4. 256. 52 
 
 The gross weight in Liverpool was 26,606 pounds and in Montgom- 
 ery, Ala., 26,207 pounds, the gain in weight being 409 pounds. It 
 will be noticed that tlie deduction for tare and bands (bagging and 
 ties) was less than 12 pounds per bale, and that country damage was 
 found in only eight bales. The cotton was sold in Liverpool at 15.32 
 cents per pound. 
 
 Several important advantages over recompression recommend com- 
 pres,sion at the ginnery. These are greater density and uniformity 
 of package, character of wrapping, ease and economy in transporta- 
 tion, and minimum of tare. A 34-foot box car will carry 50 recom- 
 pressed bales; 85 gin-compressed bales can be carried in the same 
 space. The burlap covers and completely protects the cotton, which 
 the jute covering of the recompressed bale does not, and permits the 
 
22 PACKING AND MAKKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 package to be plainly marked in a manner that will not be obliter- 
 ated. The marking of the bale so it may be identified is a highly 
 important matter. The bill of lading and other shipping documents 
 describe the marks placed on the bale for identification, but if these 
 be obliterated, defaced, or removed by cutting the covering, delivery 
 of the cotton to the purchaser is difficult, sometimes impossible, when 
 a large cargo consigned to numerous buyers is concerned. The re- 
 compressed bale rarely reaches its destination in condition to permit 
 recognition of marks. 
 
 PROPER MARKING OF BALES. 
 
 The character and condition of the bagging as it leaves the large 
 compress preclude proper marking. Moreover, the operation is so 
 rapid and the material employed so inadequate for the purpose in- 
 tended that the mark, usually placed on the bale while in motion 
 from the compress to the laborer who removes it, is often so smeared 
 before the bale reaches the shed that it is almost useless for the pur- 
 pose of identification. It not infrequentl}^ happens that the mark, 
 or a portion of the mark, is placed over a sample hole. 
 
 Several metallic devices have been introduced for the better mark- 
 ing of cotton. These are placed securely on the tie and can not be 
 removed without removing the band on which the tag is fastened. 
 If desired, two or more of these metal tags may be placed on the 
 bale. The number and location of the ginnery at which the cotton 
 was baled is stamped on the tag, thus furnishing means for deter- 
 mining bj'^ whom the cotton Avas packed. The tags are numbered 
 serially so that the ginner may readily ascertain the producer of cot- 
 ton as to which complaint is made. 
 
 CONDITION OF AMERICAN COTTON IN Lr\'ERP00L. 
 
 In a recent report to the Department of State the American consul 
 at Liverpool wrote in regard to the condition in which cotton arrived 
 at that port from the United States: 
 
 It rarely happens that one sees a carefully prepared bale of Ajiierican cotton, 
 and it is equally as rare to see a carelessly prepared bale among the foreign 
 shipments. * * * xhe constant complaints with regard to American baling 
 appear to arise from the inconvenience which is thereby caused in handling the 
 bales as well as from damage to the cotton and consequent loss from insecurity 
 of the packing. The inconvenience arises by reason of the marking being so 
 damagefl or torn away at times as to make it difficult to determine all of the 
 particular bales which are due to a particular consignee, and delay and diffi- 
 culty are the outcome. The writer saw on the quays bales which had been 
 practically denuded of covering. It is quite clear from the manifest that a cer- 
 tain number of bales are due to a certain consignee, but there is a loss to some 
 one unless each receives the particular grade of cotton which he has purchased. 
 
 The advantages, however, claimed for gin compression are lessened 
 if the bale be subjected to the usual cutting to obtain samples or if 
 the quality of the burlap used for covering be inferior. No manner 
 of packing can be effective if the package be surrendered to such a 
 system. Therefore the substitution of an entirely new system of 
 grading. ■v\hicli will limit the pulling to one sample from each bale 
 before the cotton is covered, and ])rovide that grading shall be done 
 at the time of ginning, is suggested as a tentative plan for the sue- 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 23 
 
 cessful establishment of a reform so urgently demanded by persons 
 concerned in the cotton industry, and the establishment of which 
 would be the means of saving the $50,000,000 or more estimated to be 
 wasted annually by adherence to the present system. That this is 
 entirely practicable is very strongly disputed by good authority, but 
 the proposed plan seems worthy of careful consideration. 
 
 BENEFITS TO TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES. 
 
 Compression at the ginnery, it is said, would save at least 50 per 
 tent of the expense that attaches to the present system of recompres- 
 sion at points distant from the ginnery. Preparation of cotton 
 at the ginnery for market would not only result in large economy 
 in the cost of preliminary handling, but would result in further 
 economies in securing reductions in cost of transportation by land 
 and sea, inland and marine insurance, warehousing, etc. Tlie 
 complete covering of the cotton, the density of the package, the 
 superior method of compression, appeal alike to transportation com- 
 panies, insurance companies, and consumers. To transport 250 
 gin-box bales requires ten 34-foot box cars. In the same space 500 
 recompressed bales and 850 gin-compressed bales may be packed. It 
 is estimated that 40,000 cars are required to move the cotton crop 
 promptly under the present system of handling. With gin com- 
 pression this important work could be done by the use of 25.000 
 or 30,000 cars, and with great saving in time and expense. Instead 
 of carrying cotton to the distant compress and being detained there 
 for long or short periods, the cars would be loaded at the ginnery or 
 a contiguous point for concentration and proceed direct to destina- 
 tion, or the seaboard if intended for export. Uniformity of the bale 
 would be especially advantageous and economical in ocean carriage. 
 In addition to economy in space the cotton could be packed in the 
 hold without the use of screw jacks, which are now necessary w^ith 
 uneven and ragged packages, this latter performance resulting in 
 damage and loss and further impairment of the package. In an 
 address recently delivered before the traffic managers of the southern 
 railways on this subject Mr. Harvie Jordan, of Atlanta, said: 
 
 Gin compression foi the railways would mean a tremendous lessening of the 
 expense of empty freight boxes standing on sidings and rotting for six months 
 of the year, or during the heavy moving of the cotton season. Two-thirds of 
 the present rolling stock employed in the movement of the crop during six 
 months of each year could be diverted to other uses, or saved to the operating 
 expenses of the railway companies. 
 
 ESTIMATES FROM RAILROAD MEN. 
 
 An officer of the freight department of the Illinois Central Hail- 
 road, which runs through the cotton belt, and which hauls a large 
 quantity of cotton, has furnished the following illustration of the 
 car space and time now required to handle cotton between the farm, 
 the compress, and the port of New Orleans : 
 
 Cotton originating at Duck Hill, Miss., if shipped north will be compressed 
 at Grenada, 12 miles distant; if shipped south, it will be compressed at 
 Winona, also 12 miles distant. The average time consumed in the conveyance 
 of 100 bales to either of those places is 2 days, and 4 box cars are required for 
 
24 PACKING AND MAKKETING OF COTTON". 
 
 tlie service. Should tliere be congestion at either point, which is likely during 
 the three jnonths of the busy season, the cars will be held 3 or 4 days before 
 they can be unloaded and moved out of the compress yard. Assuming that 
 only 2 days be thus consumed, the shortest possible time, that is equivalent 
 to 1 car for 8 days. Moreover, to carry the cotton to its destination, north 
 or south, 2 cars must be run into the compress and be there loaded, the 
 average time occupied in this way being 3 days, i'rom the compress point to 
 Memphis or New Orleans is 2 days. Thus 2 cars are occupied 5 days, equiva- 
 lent to 1 car for 30 days, and adding the 8 days for conveyance to the compress, 
 IS days in moving 100 bales from the initial point to Memphis, the point of 
 concentration, or New Orleans, the port for ocean shipment. A 40-foot car 
 loaded at Duck Hill with 100 bales will reach Memphis or New Orleans in the 
 same time (2 days). It will thus be seen that one 40-foot car employed for 
 2 diiys on gin-compressed cotton will do the same amount of work that requires 
 18 days under the present system. 
 
 Mr. J. H. Marion, of Chester, S. C, a railroad man who has given 
 much study to this subject, in speaking of gin compression, thus 
 epitomized the advantages that would come to transportation com- 
 panies by its general adoption: 
 
 One long haul from gin to port versus six shorter hauls; pai-t of the cost of 
 unloading and reloading freight cars at compress points; loss of time (demur- 
 rage) of freight cars arising from unloading and reloading; cost of shunting 
 and marshaling trains; locomotives, labor, fuel, and other stores at compress 
 points; shorter trains to haul and consequent reduced trackage; reduction in 
 number of locomotives necessary to perform the same work ; saving in space 
 and in consequent cost of sidings, goods staging, and warehouse construction; 
 not to mention the matter of interest upon the capital cost of the same, nor the 
 items of cost which come into their account as working expenses. 
 
 Mr. G. E. Bennett, of Austin, Tex., who is largely interested in 
 the cotton industry, speaking of the necessity for the introduction of 
 improved methods of handling cotton, said : 
 
 There is no question but that there is a demand for better handling of 
 cotton. This any handler will tell you, regardless of his interests or his 
 prejudices. The spinners of the world are demanding an improved bale and 
 a better handling of American cotton, which is the only cotton that is handled 
 in a slipshod, ragged way. All other cotton-raising countries have long since 
 adopted improved methods of baling and have a perfectly covered and well 
 cared for bale. The American is the only bale that is permitted to lie ai'ound 
 in the weather exposed to damage and stealings and every character of waste. 
 
 GRADING AT THE GINNERY. 
 
 It is suggested that ultimately some plan for grading at the ginnery 
 may be devised. It is not possible to assume that the present unfor- 
 tunate conditions will be permitted to continue indefinitely. The 
 presentation of some system that will improve these conditions is an 
 urgent need at this time. For reasons heretofore explained it is be- 
 lieved that great difficulties confront an effort for change by indi- 
 vidual or locally combined effort. 
 
 The suggestion has been made and has received approval in many 
 quarters that the Federal Government should establish a system of 
 grading, certifying, and warehousing cotton, the acceptance of which 
 should not be made mandatory but left optional with those whom it is 
 intended to serve. While the Department of Commerce and Labor is 
 on record as disapproving any plan to materially extend Federal su- 
 pervision over the cotton industry, it may be useful to consider the 
 results which would follow from the establishment of an authorita- 
 tive system of grading cotton at the ginnery. 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 25 
 
 Assuming that under the proposed system the United States Gov- 
 ernment, through the Department of Agriculture or some combina- 
 tion of commercial interests which would command universal accept- 
 ance by those concerned in the handling and marketing of cotton, 
 should appoint experts to grade cotton — these appointments to be 
 made under some plan that would tend to insure the employment of 
 qualified graders — only men of high character, having large experi- 
 ence in this field, possessing the requisite technical knowledge and 
 training, and whose judgment would be generally accepted without 
 hesitation should be eligible for appointment as graders. The of- 
 ficial graclir.g i^roposed should be done at ginneries immediately fol- 
 lowing compression and before the bale is wrapped, and a certificate 
 would be given the owner setting forth in detail the quality of the 
 cotton, specifying weight, class, type, grade, length, softness, fine- 
 ness, and strength of staple, together with the place of production, 
 number of the ginnery, and such other information as might be help- 
 ful to the purchaser. In this way the producer would secure a dis- 
 interested and accurate analysis of his cotton set forth in an authori- 
 tative certificate which might be accepted for its face value bj'^ those 
 desiring to purchase, and which could be used by the farmer with the 
 local banks for collateral for a loan in case it was desirable to hold 
 the cotton. If not immediately removed after ginning, the cotton 
 could be stored in a warehouse and be subject to the order of the 
 owner. The merchant buying for future delivery would be assisted, 
 it is suggested, by this system of authoritative designation of the 
 grade of each bale. 
 
 While there are difficulties too numerous to outline in this report 
 concerning the establishment of any such system, it is suggested 
 that some such system would be highly desirable as a standard toward 
 which the present efforts for the improvement of the handling of the 
 cotton crop should be directed. The many objections to such a tre- 
 mendous extension of the share of the Federal Government in the 
 business of handling the cotton crop nuiy render it entirely outside 
 the region of practicability. Some approximation, however, of this 
 plan to establish authoritative grades and to assure a better protec- 
 tion for the cotton crop than is now afforded may be secured by con- 
 certed efforts by those who seriously desire to improve the existing 
 conditions. 
 
 OPINION OF AN EXPERT. 
 
 Several years ago Mr. D. A. Tompkins, of Charlotte, N. C., who 
 has made careful study of the growth of cotton and of the several 
 processes through which it passes between the farm and the mill, 
 and whose practical knowledge acquired in the active management 
 of mills makes his testimony valuable, delivered an address at Shreve- 
 port. La., before the National Cotton Convention, in which the issu- 
 ance of a certificate somewhat similar to that herein outlined was 
 advocated. In the course of his address, Mr, Tompkins said : 
 
 I believe that the practical monopoly which we have had in the past can 
 be continued if we will protect the conditions surrounding the production of 
 cotton against menacing influence, and if we bring about, in place of the 
 menaces, fostering influences. The cotton plant is one of the most delicate of 
 the agricultural products. It is produced in a climate that varies enough to 
 make the variation in cotton production range from 150 pounds of lint cotton 
 
26 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 per acre to 225 ponnds of lint cotton per acre. One frost might malje this 
 difference from one year to another because of the extreme delicacy of the plant 
 and of extreme variations in climatic conditions. We furnish to. the world one 
 year a crop which is overwhelmingly big, and the next year a crop which is 
 insufficient to supply the ordinary demands. This creates a condition in which 
 the speculator holds high carnival in dealing in cotton. The legitimate mer- 
 chant and the manufacturer are made to turn gambler whether they will or 
 not, and the ordinary course of trade is tremendously disturbed. The average 
 production for 10 years, if it could be maintained, would bring about an aver- 
 age price. Inasmuch as the climate forbids this from one year to another, 
 it is important that the production shall be, by some artificial means, brought 
 tc more or less of an average, and thereby the price would be brought to an 
 apjiroximate average. 
 
 NEED OF A WAREHOUSE SYSTEM. 
 
 I believe this might best be done by the development of a system of ware- 
 houses which did far more than shelter and care for the cotton. Existing ware- 
 houses simply issue a receipt for a bale of cotton. No effort is made to state 
 what kind of cotton the receipt stands for, nor does the warehouse company 
 assume any responsibility for the grade, weight, or anything else connected 
 with the cotton. Insurance is higher than it ought to be. I believe if a com- 
 prehensive warehouse company would engage the best graders to be had, and 
 would issue a certificate in which every factor relating to the bale of cotton 
 was accurately entered, and the warehouse company stand responsible for 
 the description of the cotton as given in the receipt, that such a receipt could 
 be traded in to better advantage than the bale of cotton itself. The purchaser 
 of the receipt in Carolina, in England, or in Germany would know more about 
 the particular bale of cotton in question from the I'eceipt in hand than he would 
 know about it if he saw the bale of cotton. 
 
 Cotton being one of the very best collaterals on the market, such receipts 
 standing for the cotton exactly, might be traded in in the financial institutions 
 of Ihe whole world. Thus it would be feasible to bring cotton within the 
 reach of all the surplus money of the world, and when there was a large crop 
 the surplus would undoubtedly be carried over by financial institutions as 
 iTivestments until a small crop should bring the price to an average. It would 
 save the forcing of the surplus onto the market, and by proper construction of 
 warehouses, projier protection against fire, and buikling in proper units, the 
 cost of carrying cotton could be very much reduced by reduction of insurance, 
 and by reduction of interest rate in consequence of the certificate being an 
 accuriite representation of the cotton itself, and being as good for money in 
 I'rovidence or Liverpool as in the town in which the warehouse is located. 
 
 VALUE OF AN AUTHORITATIVE CERTIFICATE. 
 
 I exhibit a receipt which not only stands for a bale of cotton but gives the 
 general classification, the grade, the length of the staple, the degree of tinge, 
 the degree of softness, the degree of fineness, and all these points are given 
 in accordance with the judgment and the skill of the best and most expert 
 graders obtainable. Therefore the record written by the expert wotild make 
 a certificate representing a bale of cotton stand for more to a purchaser than 
 if an average inexpert purchaser could see the bale of cotton himself. This cer- 
 tificate would stand for more to a banker in Livei-pool or in Bremen than the 
 cotton would to the average man who was in the town where the cotton w:;s 
 located and he could see the cotton. It would, in addition to having the record 
 of an expert's judgment on every feature of the particular bale of the cotton, 
 also have the backing of a responsible company guaranteeing tliis record. Such 
 a system of waroiionses, with such a receipt, would tremendously simplify the 
 purchase by a millmau of cotton in warehouse, no matter where located in the 
 cotton-growing district. The European spinner by the purchase of these cer- 
 tificates could become the owner of cotton in Memphis with absolute confidence 
 that, with a certificate in hand, he knew more about the cotton than if he 
 could see it in jMemphis, and with the further absolute confidence that the 
 responsibility of the warehouse company insured his getting the cotton when- 
 ever he wanted it, and yet equally insured its safe-keeping for him as long as 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 27 
 
 the owners of the certificate wanted him to do so. By making it feasible for 
 a millman to buy cotton from the owner in warehouse outside the territory, 
 and by bringinj? cotton into shape where it could be held as an investment and 
 the surplus carried over from one season to another, speculation would neces- 
 sarily have a much narrower field of operations than now and the cotton 
 spinner would have an infinitely better situation in respect to buying cotton. 
 
 The foregoing utterance was made in December, 1904, nearly eight 
 years ago. Since then the cotton crop has grown in magnitude and 
 value, but no material changes have taken place in methods of prepa- 
 ration for market. The lapse of time, additional study, and fiirther 
 practical experience have streng-thened the conviction of Mv. Tomp- 
 kins that the service of a competent, powerful, and trustworthy 
 agency is needed to initiate and carry on a movement for the establish- 
 ment of an organization that will inaugurate the reform so urgently 
 desired and so imperatively needed. In discussing recently with 
 Mr. Tompkins his warehouse and certificate proposition he declared 
 that all men familiar with present conditions of producing and 
 marketing cotton and interested in bettering these conditions were 
 prepared to cooperate with any plan for organization that appeared 
 to be practical. 
 
 FORM FOR CERTIFYING GRADES. 
 
 That portion of the certificate devised by Mr. Tompkins devoted 
 to the description of the cotton to be warehoused could be adapted 
 to a descriptive certificate issued by the officer who would grade 
 cotton offered for inspection. The first part of the Tompkins 
 certificate is after the usual form of warehouse documents of this 
 character. The form for describing the cotton passed upon follows, 
 and it will be observed that the grades and intermediary grades enu- 
 merated in the certificate number 30. This detail is doubtless fur- 
 nished to meet any possible condition that may arise in grading, and 
 not because of any existing necessity for so extended a list. 
 
28 
 
 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Tinges: 
 
 Figure 1 represents a very slight tinge. 
 
 Figure 10 represents a maximum 
 tinge. 
 
 Intervening figures represent inter- 
 mediate tinges from 1 to 10. 
 Softness of staple: 
 
 Figure 1 represents softest staple. 
 
 Figure 10 represents hardest staple. 
 
 Intervening figures represent inter- 
 mediate degrees of softness in pro- 
 portion to figures. 
 Fineness of staple: 
 
 Figure 1 lepresents the fineness of 
 best Sea Island. 
 
 Figure 10 represents the coarsest fiber. 
 
 Figure 5 represents good grade of 
 American Uplands. 
 
 Intervening figures represent inter- 
 vening degrees of fineness. 
 Strength of staple: 
 
 Figure 1 represents greatest strength. 
 
 Figure 10 represents weakest. 
 
 Inter\'entng figures represent inter- 
 vening degrees of strength. 
 
 U4 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 2 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 p, 
 
 1 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 leters. 
 4001 
 9876 
 5751 
 1626 
 751 
 3385 
 9251 
 5126 
 1001 
 
 1 
 
 hes. 
 
 1-16 
 
 1-8 
 
 3-16 
 
 1-5 
 
 5-16 
 
 3-3S 
 
 7-16 
 
 1-2 
 
 ^ 
 
 icters. 
 525 
 1125 
 7 
 
 2857 
 875 
 4625 
 05 
 
 6475 
 225 
 8125 
 
 ;S rH rH -H v-l rt Ol CV< (N C5 
 
 "=1 
 
 Inches. 
 3-8 
 7-16 
 1-2 
 9-16 
 5-8 
 
 11-16 
 3-4 
 
 13-16 
 7-8 
 
 15-16 
 
 i 
 
 g 
 
 1 
 
 .2 
 
 "o 
 
 T3 
 
 t.1 
 
 03 
 
 1 
 i 
 
 a 
 < 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 0. Grade. 
 Good middling tinged. 
 Strict middling tinged. 
 Middling tinged. 
 Strict low middling tinged. 
 Low middling tinged. 
 Strict good ordinary tinged. 
 Fully middling stained. 
 Middling stained. 
 Barely middling stained. 
 Strict' low middling stained. 
 Fully low middling stained. 
 Low middling stained. 
 
 
 Grade. 
 Fair. 
 
 Strict middling fair. 
 Middling fair. 
 Barely middling fair. 
 Strict good middling. 
 Fully good middling. 
 Good middling. 
 Barely good middling. 
 Strict middling. 
 Middling. 
 Strict low middling. 
 Fully low middling. 
 Low middling. 
 Barely low middling. 
 Strict good ordinary. 
 Fully good ordinary. 
 Good ordinary. 
 Strict good middling tinged. 
 
 v5 »-< <N CC -^ "3 O t^ 00 05 O .-1 C^ W^ lO O t^ 00 
 
 d 
 .o 
 
 S 
 3 
 
 1. Sea Island. 
 
 2. Egyptian. 
 
 3. Rivers. 
 
 4. Benders. 
 
 5. Peelers. 
 
 6. Uplands. 
 
 9. 
 10, 
 
 1 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 .9 
 
 
 
 
 
 a, 
 
 o3 
 
 "o 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 03 
 
 
 
 
 
 ft 
 
 03 
 
 "o 
 
 tCs 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 oJ 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 aj 
 
 •a 
 2 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 _o 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 to 
 'S 
 
 
 
 
 
 d 
 a 
 
 pq 
 
 
 
 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 29 
 
 The Tompkins certificate includes all grades that are known in 
 the classification of cotton. Those designated as " strict " are half 
 grades and those designated " rarely " and " fully " are quarter 
 grades. In the classification made by the New York Cotton Ex- 
 change November 15, 1911, and which remained in force until Septem- 
 ber 12, 1912, six full grades are designated, of which three are above 
 the basic grade, viz, good middling, middling fair, and fair; and 
 two are below basic, viz, low middling and good ordinary. In the 
 lower classifications no grade is given below low middling tinged^ 
 except middling stained. The Department of Agriculture, in fixing 
 its types, provides for nine grades, of which four are above and 
 four below middling, the basic grade. In the '' spot " market 13 
 distinct grades are generally recognized, in which are included three 
 I'.alf grades above and three below middling. These grades are con- 
 fined to what is known as white cotton, excluding those grades desig- 
 nated as " tinged " and " stained." 
 
 GRADING AND CERTIFYING. 
 
 In 1907 the Department of Commerce and Labor, through the 
 Bureau of Corporations and by direction of the House of Representa- 
 tives, made a thorough investigation of the causes of fluctuations 
 that had recently occurred in the price of cotton and of the methods 
 of cotton exchanges in dealing in futures. The result of the investi- 
 gation was presented to Congress. It embraces more than 1,000 
 printed pages and is published in five parts. In his letter, under date 
 of May 29, 1908, submitting parts 2 and 3, Herbert Knox Smith, 
 Commissioner of Corporations, said : 
 
 There should certainly be a system of uniform grades throughout the cotton 
 trade if possible. It would greatly simplify the business and stop a number of 
 abuses. The practical difficulties in the way of arriving at such a system are 
 considerable, and probably the best that can be done at present is to make a 
 persistent effort to approach gradually such an ideal as near as may be. 
 
 In the report referred to numerous men actively engaged in han- 
 dling cotton are quoted on the various topics discussed, and in con- 
 nection with classification for delivery on contracts expression favor- 
 able to governmental organization and direction was given by some of 
 the persons consulted. A merchant of Savannah, Ga., is quoted as 
 follows : 
 
 There is no reason why cotton should not be officially classed and weighed 
 bale by bale in the same manner as the quality of naval stores in the South is 
 determined by official classers whose marks are not allowed to be obliterated, 
 or as canned goods in the North and West are labeled by Government inspec- 
 tors, which labels can not be effaced without leading to litigation. 
 
 A merchant of Augusta, Ga., one of the largest interior markets 
 in the country, and at which upward of 500,000 bales were handled 
 this season, said : 
 
 We should have uniform rules to conduct the cotton business from North 
 Carolina to Texas. We should have uniform classification, and we sliould have 
 such rules and classification made and enforced by a convention of southern 
 exchanges so that we would deal with the manufacturers of this country and 
 Europe upon the same basis, knowing no New York or Liverpool or Bremen 
 rules, but announcing to the world the basis on which our product Is sold. We 
 would then hear nothing more of New York middling, or Liverpool middling, or 
 Augusta or Savannah or Charleston middling, but we would have one set of 
 grades agreetl upon and would offer our cotton for sale ui)on such grades. 
 
30 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON". 
 
 UTTERANCES OF COTTON EXCHANGES. 
 
 The practicability and desirability of a uniform system of grading 
 and certification have been affirmed by many representative cotton 
 men of the South and the plan has also received approval from 
 prominent members of the New York and New Orleans Cotton Ex- 
 changes. For many years, in order to facilitate the holding of a 
 stock of cotton at New York, it has been urged that the warehouse 
 and certifying system of that city should be extended to southern 
 markets under control of the New York Cotton Exchange. It was 
 proposed that cotton stored in southern warehouses should be sampled 
 when stored and the samples forwarded to New York for inspection 
 by the inspection bureau of the exchange. Upon certification the 
 cotton was to be tenderable on contracts without being brought to New 
 York. Several reports on this matter were made by committees of 
 the exchange. The advantages of the proposed plan were explained 
 in a report made by a special committee in 1903, in which it was 
 said: 
 
 It will gradually establish a uniform grade of cotton. The certificate will 
 assure the buyer that the cotton is all in the warehouse as stated and that 
 the grade is guaranteed. Reclamations will be reduced to a minimum, espe- 
 cially for grade. The planter or dealer will let the cotton stay in the South 
 at cheap storage until he sells to mills and exporters. Duplicate samples will 
 enable the owner to offer his certificated cotton in any market or to any buyer. 
 The buyer can take and pay for the certificates and leave the cotton where it is 
 till he is ready to order it elsewhere or resell it on contract. 
 
 It is true the purpose of extending the New York warehousing 
 system to the South was to promote and facilitate operations in sales 
 for future delivery on contracts, but the standardization proposed 
 in this case can be applied to grading and certifying cotton at the 
 ginnery, when this may be practicable, and having it stored there 
 and at other convenient points where suitable warehouses under re- 
 sponsible direction may be located. If it be practical and desirable 
 to grade and certify cotton stored at points of origin for the con- 
 venience and profit of merchants and brokers at New York or other 
 distant places, it would seem to be equally so to institute similar 
 processes for the benefit and encouragement of the producer and those 
 for whom primarily the crop is intended. 
 
 July 20, 1912, at a meeting of the representatives of 41 cotton 
 exchanges and others interested in the marketing of cotton, at which 
 differences between certain European and American exchanges in 
 regard to arbitration were considered, the following was among the 
 resolutions adopted : 
 
 We recommend that all cotton interests work toward the adoption of a 
 standard of classification for American cotton of all growths, which shall be 
 made world wide. 
 
 GIN COMPRESSION AND ADEQUATE WAREHOUSES. 
 
 Warehouses of modern fireproof construction for storing baled 
 cotton, located at or contiguous to the ginneries and at the south 
 Atlantic and Gulf ports from which shipments are made, are urgently 
 needed. The construction of such warehouses would logically follow 
 the inauguration of a system of gin compression. Adequate ware- 
 
PACKING AND MAKKETING OF COTTON. 31 
 
 housing would not only safeguard the product but would be a de- 
 cided convenience in its transportation and contribute materially to 
 reduce the present charges for insurance and handling. At none of 
 the points of concentration, including the ports for ocean shipments, 
 are adequate accommodations provided for storage, and in some 
 cases no thought seems to have been given to this important matter, 
 owing, doubtless, to the prevalent belief that exposure can not dam- 
 age cotton. At many of the points of concentration sheds of cheap 
 construction are provided which afford partial protection, but at 
 every point in the busy season (October, November, December), when 
 fully one-half of the crop is in sight, the bulk of the cotton is exposed 
 for long periods without shelter. The illustrations accompanying 
 this report show the manner of exposure and the extent to which it 
 prevails. 
 
 WAREHOUSING BY FARMERS. 
 
 The Farmers' Union, an organization of producers which extends 
 over the cotton belt and whose membership aggregates many thou- 
 sands, several years ago inaugurated a warehouse system, the main 
 purpose being to secure a minimum price by withholding cotton from 
 market. This object was not realized, although the warehousing has 
 been somewhat helpful in obtaining better prices for producers. 
 The movement was given liberal support by farmers and has resulted 
 in the construction of perhaps 1,500 warehouses, all of which are 
 owned and operated by the Farmers' Union. These warehouses, 
 scattered over the cotton States, are of various sizes and construction, 
 but utterly inadequate to house even a very small fraction of the crop, 
 considered in the aggregate, although in particular localities the 
 bulk of the local product might be sheltered. This warehouse system 
 contemplated storing, insurance, grading, certifying, issuance of 
 warehouse receipt, and advancing money. Beyond securing the con- 
 struction of warehouses, the system has not met with the success an- 
 ticipated, and the officers of the Farmers' Union are now seeking for 
 plans to make it more effective and profitable. 
 
 WEAKNESS or THE SYSTEM. 
 
 One of the principal obstacles to the success of the system is the 
 fact that it consists of independent units, the effectiveness and in- 
 fluence of each being necessarily restricted to its immediate locality. 
 Thus the receipt issued by the warehouse for cotton held might be 
 accepted by a local bank, but would not be acceptable beyond the 
 neighborhood of the issuing warehouse. A combination of the units 
 and the establishment of a central body, say in each State, with 
 modern buildings for storing, modern appliances for economical 
 handling of cotton, and with abundance of physical assets, would 
 materially strengthen the system and extend its influence, and with 
 the active support of producers and wise direction by their repre- 
 sentatives the system would ultimately attain a standing that would 
 insure general recognition for its certificate in many of the principal 
 centers of the cotton trade. But while such combination would ex- 
 tend the field for operations its effectiveness would be limited, as is 
 the case with every private enterprise however strong financially. 
 
32 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 WORK NOW PERFORMED BY THE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The work already performed by the Government and that now in 
 progress with the object of improving present methods of cultivating 
 cotton, of safeguarding the crop, and establishing a comprehensive 
 S3^stem for its economical handling promises gratifying results. The 
 Department of Agriculture, under authority of law, with the aid of a 
 committee of experts representing every branch of the cotton indus- 
 try, established a set of standard grades, nine in number, which have 
 become an official standard for classification so far as the standards 
 have been given recognition by the exchanges. Exact duplicates of 
 the official grades ha\e been prepared by the Department of Agricul- 
 ture, as required by the law. and these are furnished at a fixed price 
 to cotton exchanges, libraries, schools, and others interested. The 
 standards have been accepted by the cotton exchanges of New Or- 
 leans, Galveston, Memphis, Charleston, Mobile, Natchez, Little Rock, 
 Macon, and St. Louis. New York has not given the standards formal 
 approval, but is at liberty to apply them when convenient or desir- 
 able. The law does not provide for compulsory adoption. Those 
 exchanges that have not adopted the standards urge that the samples 
 from which the grades were made up were selected from cotton 
 grown in the Mississippi Valley, and that they do not accurately rep- 
 resent cotton grown in other sections of the country. It is admitted 
 that the standards have value and are helpful in classifying cotton 
 grown in the section from which the grades were made up, but it is 
 held that these grades can not so fairly be applied in determining 
 the quality of Atlantic States upland cotton. It should be said in this 
 connection, however, that during the first year practically all the 
 cotton used by the Department of Agriculture in making up the 
 types came from the upland districts of Louisiana. Mississippi, 
 Texas, and Oklahoma. All the collections of grades now issued by 
 the department contain Atlantic States upland cotton. 
 
 UTILITY OF OrnCIAL STANDARDS. 
 
 Established grades have special value with exchanges and local 
 merchants in settlement of disputes, but producers contend that the 
 official standards are of little practical value to them, as they are still 
 obliged to dispose of their cotton under the methods that have always 
 obtained and to the same interested expert buyers, whose judgment 
 they are forced to accept. An active market, with lively competition 
 among buyers, enables the producer to secure better prices, but as a 
 rule, in absence of uniformity of quotations in the three principal 
 markets. New York, New Orleans, and Liverpool, and inability to 
 accurately class his cotton, the producer is obliged to sell at the price 
 fixed by the expert. It is suggested in connection with an official 
 standard for classification thaf it is but a short step to the appoint- 
 ment of Government officials to determine and certify the grade and 
 quality of the cotton, for the protection of the producer and the benefit 
 of the final purchaser who buys for consumption. In brief, it is 
 contended that the Government^ standards advantage the large class 
 that stand between the farm and the mill but contribute little, if 
 any, assistance to the producer. 
 
PACKING AND MAEKETING OF COTTON. 33 
 
 CULTTVATION OF COTTON BY TYPES. 
 
 The clemonstration work being done by the Department of Agri- 
 ture and the plans in formulation for its extension are certain to 
 prove of the highest value to producers of cotton. Under existing 
 conditions many farmers aim to produce the largest quantity of cot- 
 ton regardless of quality. The farmer is fully cognizant of the fact 
 that diiferent values attach to different grades, but has not the expert 
 knowledge required to differentiate between them, and therefore has 
 no refuge against the trained expert who analyzes and fixes a price 
 for his cotton. By experimentation the Department of Agriculture 
 has demonstrated that certain types of cotton can be more success- 
 fully grown in certain localities as regards both quantity and quality. 
 Therefore efforts will be made to induce farmers to plant the type 
 that will bring them the best and most profitable return. By this 
 plan types would tend to become associated with certain geographical 
 sections, farmers would acquire thorough familiarity with all the 
 qualities of their product, incentive to still higher achievement would 
 be incited, and the producer would be freed in a large measure from 
 the workings of the present intricate and arbitrary system of classi- 
 fication. 
 
 BENEFITS ACCRUING TO FARaiERS. 
 
 The benefits that would accrue to the farmer and advantages that 
 would come to trade generally from the cultivation of selected types 
 in particular sections and by entire communities must be apparent to 
 all who will give the matter serious consideration. This system of 
 cultivation has been adopted by individual producers in several of 
 the cotton-growing States with beneficial results, notably in South 
 Carolina and Texas. In the former State the authorities are direct- 
 ing the attention of farmers to the importance of cultivating certain 
 types. Col. E. J. Watson, commissioner of agriculture, briefly refers 
 to the development of varieties of upland long-staple cotton for plant- 
 ing, in all sections of the State, in his annual report covering opera- 
 tions for the calendar year 1911. The commissioner says: 
 
 During the past year experiments with these varieties of cotton were extended 
 and staple was developed from li to IJ inches in length, with the yield three 
 times as great as Sea Island at a less cost of production and a 5ield per acre 
 practically equal to any of the varieties of upland cotton. The plants also 
 developed drought-resistant and early maturing qualities that were scarcely 
 expected. ♦ * * For all of this class of cotton grown in this State this 
 year prices averaging approximately 17i cents per pound have been paid. There 
 is now a great demand for the selected seed in order to enable the producer to 
 raise this staple and deal directly with manufacturers at home. 
 
 The results obtained in South Carolina from growing selected 
 types accentuate the wisdom of the Department of Agriculture in 
 pushing its plans for the cultivation throughout the cotton belt of 
 types best adapted to particular sections. 
 
 COOPERATION OF G0\T:RN3IENT DEPARTMENTS IN WORK. 
 
 It is perhaps outside the province of this inquiry to discuss policies 
 that should govern and methods that should be followed in the cul- 
 tivation of cotton, yet the production of the crop is so closely allied 
 
34 PACKING AND MARKETING OP COTTON. 
 
 with the handling after it has been gathered that consideration may 
 with propriety be given the efforts being made by the Department 
 of Agriculture in this direction. The application of scientific meth- 
 ods to cultivation will undoubtedly result not only in producing 
 more and better cotton, but in the uplift of the farmer materially 
 and morally, the elimination of much of the wastefulness that attends 
 the present system of marketing, and in the promotion of trade at 
 home and abroad in this great national staple. The growing of cot- 
 ton of certain types in particular localities in which climatic condi- 
 tions are favorable to such types is not only rational and logical, but 
 will prove educational, and therefore highly profitable to the farmer. 
 The fact that the general average output per acre is ordinarily about 
 180 pounds of lint cotton, and that, except in the case of a sea island 
 growth, it is largely without definite quality or character, furnishes 
 strong and sufficient reason for remedial action. It is believed by 
 many who have given thought to this general subject that such action 
 can be best inaugurated by the Government through the Departments 
 of Agriculture and of Commerce and Labor, the former directing 
 effort to the adoption of better methods of cultivation and the latter 
 to the expeditious and economical handling of the cotton when ready 
 for market. 
 
 FORCEFUL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Numerous illustrations could be cited to establish what can be done 
 with proper cultivation. The Department of Agriculture has given 
 a number of practical demonstrations, and the agricultural depart- 
 ments of several of the States have given similar demonstrations. As 
 previously explained, demonstrations have been made at various 
 points in the cotton belt of the value of planting certain types of 
 cotton. As a result of these demonstrations numerous cases are re- 
 ported of largely increased output of a high class of cotton, thus 
 establishing that the yield can be increased without undue increase 
 in the cost of production. Evidence that more and better cotton can 
 be produced by improved methods of cultivation is furnished by sales 
 made this season at Clarksville, Tex. A¥hat is known as Red River 
 County seed is largely planted in that State. This type has been 
 found to produce the best results, and Texas planters are being urged 
 to employ it. This class of cotton sold at Clarksville for 18 cents per 
 pound because of its staple, while cotton of equal grade brought the 
 same day only 10 cents. 
 
 According to the revised estimate of the Bureau of Statistics of 
 the Department of Agriculture, the area planted in cotton in 1911 
 was 36,681,000 acres, of which 636,000 acres were abandoned, leaA'ing 
 36,045,000 acres as the area from which the crop was harvested. The 
 average production of lint per acre in 1911 was 208 pounds, as com- 
 pared with 171 pounds in 1910. The last crop not only exceeded 
 that of any previous year in aggreate weight and in average yield per 
 acre, but prices obtained were generally satisfactory to the growers. 
 
 GRADING AT THE GIN. 
 
 There is reason for believing that an organization on lines suggested 
 in this report would not only tend to cure the evils described but 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 35 
 
 would be the active means of removing other evils that are the out- 
 growth of the present sj'stem. Moreover, it would tend to improve 
 the quality, increase the value, and guard the integrity of the cotton 
 crop by eliminating the nondescript grades, few of which are fit for 
 spinning and many of which would find their way to paper mills and 
 similar utilities. Knowing he would get a better price for good 
 quality and that his cotton would be accurately graded, the farmer 
 would be impelled to grow the higher types and would exercise greater 
 care in picking and proper vigilance in protecting the cotton after 
 leaving the ginnery. Cultivation by communities of types best 
 adapted to their several localities, compression at the ginnery, gi-ad- 
 ing and certifying by competent authority, go to the root of the 
 existing evils. 
 
 PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION BY COTTON CLUBS. 
 
 The Department of Agi'iculture contemplates entering a new line 
 of activity to improve both the quantity and quality of the cotton 
 crop and to educate the farmer in the fundamentals of growing and 
 grading the staple by the establishment of cotton clubs similar to the 
 corn clubs inaugurated with success several years ago. Boys consti- 
 tute the bulk of the membership of the corn clubs and it is proposed 
 to form cotton clubs from the more advanced and successful of 
 these boys. 
 
 The establishment of corn clubs demonstrated to southern agricul- 
 turists the possibilities of corn growing in the South and stimulated 
 an interest in agriculture, especially the production of home supplies. 
 Those in charge of the Farmers' Cooperative Demonstration Work 
 believe that the best of the corn-club boys can now progTess from corn 
 to cotton production, thus widening their useful knowledge and giv- 
 ing them the basis for a thorough system of agTiculture. The lessons 
 of preparation, seed selection, and intensive cultivation will be con- 
 tinued as applied to cotton, and in boll-weevil sections the boys will 
 be shown the department's methods of raising cotton under boll- weevil 
 conditions. 
 
 Members of cotton clubs will be expected to work at least 2 acres, 
 and practically every boy will thus grow enough seed cotton to make 
 a bale. It is not so important that a large number of boys be enrolled 
 the first year as that every boy's crop be a first-class demonstration 
 By the same kind of persistent work that has been done in the corn 
 clubs the boy can grow at a good profit, even in the worst infected 
 boll-weevil sections, a large yield of improved cotton. This has 
 already been done in Louisiana and Texas. 
 
 It is expected that the boys will study grading and standardization, 
 so that they will be able to classify and mark their crops intelligently. 
 With the theoretical knowledge acquired at the State agricultural 
 colleges and farmers' institutes, these practical demonstrations by the 
 Department of Agriculture through its well-equipped field agencies 
 will in a comparatively short time qualify the farmer to obtain the 
 very best results from cultivation and enable him to determine with 
 approximate accuracy the quality and value of his crop. 
 
CLASSIFYING AND GRADING. 
 
 The classification and grading of cotton is an important, compre- 
 hensive, and intricate business, requiring thorough knowledge of the 
 material, long training, skill, and good judgment. Ordinarily those 
 engaged in the business of handling cotton can determine with ap- 
 proximate accuracy the general character or grade, but for the pur- 
 pose of spinning yarn the judgment of the expert is essential, length, 
 strength, and fineness of the staple being important factors with the 
 spinner. The grade of cotton in the main is determined by the degree 
 of color and the quantity of foreign matter which it contains, such as 
 dirt, leaf, etc., conditions that are readily recognized upon inspection 
 by the buyer. Length and texture of staple, however, are not given 
 as great consideration in the initial dealings as their importance 
 would seem to require, nor are they considered by the classification 
 committee of the New York Cotton Exchange unless there be a 
 specific request for their inclusion. 
 
 In connection with the subject matter of this report the classifica- 
 tion and grading of cotton as now performed has special interest and 
 a brief description of methods that obtain may prove helpful in 
 studying the proposition to introduce a new system of grading that 
 will have the authority and stamp of the Government. The diffi- 
 culties that attend grading are plainly set forth in the report of the 
 Bureau of Corporations on Cotton Exchanges. In Part I of that re- 
 port it is explained that the classification of cotton can not be per- 
 formed with absolute accuracy ; that no two experts would class a 
 large lot of cotton of assorted grades exactly alike, and that the same 
 expert, classing a large lot of cotton twice, probably would not re- 
 turn exactly identical classification. The report continues: 
 
 METHOD OF CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 The classification of cotton is almost eutii-ely by the eye. There are no 
 mechanical means for performing this work. The differences of cleanliness, 
 amount of leaf, and amount of color are so gradual that it is exceedingly diffi- 
 cult, in classing cotton into the half grades, to determine exactly where each 
 individual bale should be placed. The difficulty increases as the grade of the 
 cotton falls below middling. With the grades of middling and above, it is a 
 much simpler matter to class cotton with reasonable accuracy. What might 
 appear to be very unimportant conditions exert a material effect upon classifi- 
 cation. Thus, a passing cloud may easily influence a classer, quite uncon- 
 sciously, almost to the extent of a quarter of a grade. When snow is on the 
 gi'ound it is very difficult to class cotton if the light is reflected upon the cotton 
 or into the eyes of the classer. Still again, very few bales of cotton are exactly 
 uniform in character, so that if two small samples are taken from different 
 parts of the same bale they might easily show a decided variation. It is cus- 
 tomary in the New York market, where two samples are drawn from each bale, 
 to reject the higher sample. Even a single sample of a few ounces, however, 
 may not be absolutely uniform in character. When it is stated that a bale of 
 cotton weighing, say, 500 pounds represents approximately the yield of 2i 
 acres of land, and that picking, on account of the low-grade labor employed, 
 
 36 
 
PACKING AND MAEKETING OP COTTON. 
 
 37 
 
 Is often carelessly done, it is easy to see how classification based on a sample 
 of only a few ounces may give rise to much dissatisfaction. 
 
 AVhat might appear to be very unimportant conditions exert a material. effect 
 upon classification. Thus, a passing cloud may influence a classer, quite un- 
 consciously, almost to the extent of a quarter grade. When snow is on the 
 ground it is very difficult to class cotton if the light is reflected upon the cotton 
 or into the eyes of the classer. 
 
 RELATIVE VALUE OF GRADES IN THE NEW YORK EXCHANGE. 
 
 The basic quality of cotton is known as middling, and all quo- 
 tations and sales are made on and from that basis. Classification is 
 made and grades are established by a committee of experts employed 
 by the New York Cotton Exchange, and the action of this committee 
 is given recognition by the trade and governs all deliveries and sales, 
 whether " spot " or " futures." The classification is made in Septem- 
 ber and November of each year, and the latter stands good until 
 September 12 of the year next following. The difference in values 
 of the several grades is fixed by the classification committee. The 
 price varies according to the supply and demand, but the values 
 fixed by the committee for grades above and below middling are 
 plus or minus the market price for middling and are permanent 
 for the time being. The differential is established by points, each 
 point being the equivalent of one one-hundredth of a cent. Thus, if 
 cotton be quoted at 10 cents per pound, fully middling, being 
 rated 15 points above middling, would command 15 cents per hun- 
 dred pounds or 75 cents per bale over a bale of middling. On the 
 other hand, for barely middling, an " off " grade, the price would 
 be 17 points below, or 85 cents per bale less than middling. 
 
 The several grades established by the New York Cotton Exchange 
 for the year ended September, 1912, and their relative values are 
 given in the table following. The grades above middling are "on" 
 or i^lus, and those below are "off" or minus the current price for 
 middling, the basic quality. A column is added showing the in- 
 creased value attaching to the bale of 500 pounds according to the 
 differentials. The price for middling is placed in the table at 12 
 cents per pound, to which the differential on the basis of each point 
 being equivalent to one one-hundredth of a cent, should be added. 
 
 Grades. 
 
 Points 
 on (+) or 
 off (-). 
 
 Increase (+ 
 
 or de- 
 crease (— ) 
 in value of 
 bale. 
 
 Pair 
 
 Strict middling fair 
 
 Middling fair 
 
 Strict good middling 
 
 Fully good middling 
 
 Good middling 
 
 Barely good middling 
 
 Strict middling 
 
 Fully middling 
 
 MIDDLING (12 cents per pound) 
 
 Barely middling 
 
 Strict low middling , 
 
 Fully low middling 
 
 Low middling 
 
 Strict good ordinary 
 
 Good ordinary , 
 
 +$8.75 
 -I- 7.50 
 -I- 6.50 
 + 4.00 
 -I- 3.40 
 + 2.80 
 + 2.15 
 + 1.50 
 + .75 
 
 - .85 
 
 - 1.75 
 
 - 2.75 
 
 - 4.00 
 
 - 7.00 
 -10.50 
 
38 
 
 PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 The foregoing grades constitute what is known as white cotton. 
 Following are the " tinged " and " stained " grades, the basis being 
 middling, 12 cents per pound, as in the former table : 
 
 Grades. 
 
 Strict good middling tinged 
 
 Good middling tinged (same as middling). 
 
 Strict middling tinged 
 
 Middling tinged 
 
 Strict low middling tinged 
 
 Low middling tinged 
 
 Middling stained 
 
 Points 
 on (+) or 
 ofl (-). 
 
 + 43 
 
 - 1.5 
 
 - 30 
 
 - 80 
 -100 
 
 - 90 
 
 Increase (+) 
 
 or de- 
 crease (— ) 
 in value of 
 
 bale. 
 
 +$2.15 
 
 - .75 
 
 - 1.50 
 
 - 4.00 
 
 - 5.00 
 
 - 4.50 
 
 Under the rules of the New York Cotton Exchange delivery of 
 cotton purchased for future delivery may be made at seller's op- 
 tion on three days' notice to buyer. Delivery of any grade may 
 be made from good ordinary (white) to fair, inclusive; and if tinged, 
 not below low middling tinged; if stained, not below middling 
 stained. The price is for middling with additions or reductions for 
 other grades according to the rates existing on the afternoon of the 
 day previous to the date of notice of delivery. Liverpool classifica- 
 tion for middling and all grades above is about one-fourth grade 
 lower than New York classification, and for grades below middling 
 one-fourth to one-half grade higher than New York. 
 
 GOVERNMENT TYPES. 
 
 The nine types selected by the Department of Agriculture, begin- 
 ning with the highest, are: Fair, strict good middling, good middling, 
 strict middling, middling (basis), strict low middling, low middling, 
 strict good ordinary, and good ordinary. These types were estab- 
 lished by a committee of experts in accordance with the act of Con- 
 gress providing for the work, and, as explained in another part of 
 this report, are generally accepted by those actively engaged in the 
 buying and selling of cotton. They are not intended to determine 
 length, strength, and fineness of staple, but to determine color and 
 cleanliness of the cotton. They have special value in making com- 
 parisons to decide tj^pes, and are used much in the same manner as 
 samples of fabrics are employed in "matching." Objection is made 
 that while these Government types have value in determining the 
 general quality of cotton grown in the section from which the stand- 
 ard types were taken, they can not be used with accuracy in classify- 
 ing cotton grown in other sections. 
 
 The confusion in standards of various markets is shown in the 
 following statement from a North Carolina merchant which, it 
 fcihould be mentioned, was made before the Government types were 
 selected : 
 
 Cotton from different sections represents different values. For instance, 
 middling cotton from Mississippi is given preference over middling cotton from 
 Georgia, and middling cotton from Georgia will bring a higher price than mid- 
 dling cotton from North Carolina. That is owing not only to a difference in 
 staple but in the general character of the cotton — what we call the " body ** 
 of the cotton. * * * The Mississippi cotton, for instance, has the heaviest 
 
PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 39 
 
 body and the strongest fiber of the cotton of any State east of the Mississippi 
 River, unless it be Louisiana. Georgia cotton has about tlie same body as 
 Carolina cotton, but better staple. But the grade of the cotton is not deter- 
 mined by the staple nor the body of the cotton, but by its character as to 
 cleanliness and color. 
 
 COTTON REQUIRED BY MANUFACTURERS. 
 
 Each manufacturer requires a certain grade and type of cotton to 
 produce his particular class of goods. When a manufacturer makes 
 a small range in numbers of yarn, or is confined to one or two dif- 
 ferent grades of fabrics, only one grade of cotton will be needed. 
 When, however, a manufacturer makes a wide range of yarns and 
 fabrics, different grades of cotton are frequently used. In the first 
 case it will be necessary for the manufacturer to have as nearly as 
 possible even-running bales. To have a mixture of cotton — that is, 
 to mix the longer with the shorter staple — would cause a considerable 
 amount of trouble, particularly if the cotton should be mixed to- 
 gether. Any mixing of long and short staple would mean a loss of 
 production with an additional amount of waste in the making of 
 yarns. This occurs in mills where the mixing of cotton does not 
 receive the particular attention which should be given it. Inability 
 to mix and successfully spin cotton of different grades and lengths 
 is due to the fact that the rolls in the different machines which have 
 to draw out the cotton into thread travel at different speeds, the back 
 roll traveling slower than the front roll. These rolls are also set a 
 certain distance apart, according to the length of the staple. If the 
 rolls should be set to spin 1-inch cotton and lij-inch should be used, 
 the rolls would break the fibers, and this would have a bad effect in 
 the making of yarn. On the other hand, if the rolls should be set 
 for l^-inch and seven-eighths or 1 inch cotton should be used, many 
 fibers would drop between the rolls and in this way there would be 
 much waste and loss. Where the manufacturer makes a wide range 
 of yarns and fabrics, such a mixing of cottons of extreme different 
 lengths is almost unheard of. Therefore, should the manufacturer 
 get different gTades in any lot of cotton, the bales would be separated 
 according to grade, and used according to the staple required for a 
 certain yarn or fabric. 
 
 LESSON FROM THE FIGURES. 
 
 The foregoing brief outline of the methods that obtain in classi- 
 fication and grading of cotton will convey an idea of the intricacies 
 of the system and of the difficulties that confront the ordinary farmer 
 in seeking to obtain a fair and proper price for his product. It has 
 been pertinently said that in the South " cotton is bought, not sold." 
 The expert buyer, familiar with the relative value of grades, decides 
 upon the quality of the cotton offered and the farmer often has no 
 means of ascertaining the correctness of the buyer's judgment. 
 
 As may be seen from the foregoing table, which is given to illus- 
 trate the different values of the various grades according to the 
 classification and grades established by the New York exchange for 
 the period stated, the difference in a single grade above middling may 
 have a monej^ value of $2.80 per bale, and if the difference should be 
 two grades " on " the money value may be $6.50 per bale. 
 
 o 
 
-BALE AS RECEIVED AT THE COMPRESS FROM THE GINNERY 
 AFTER BEING CUT AND SAMPLED. 
 
 FIG. 2. — BALE AFTER COMING FROM THECOMPRESS; 
 SAMPLE HOLE COVERED WITH A PATCH AND THE 
 EIGHT HOOPS TRIMMED. 
 
FIG. 8.— GIN-COMPRESSED BALES SHOW I Nli CONTRAST IN QUALITY 
 OF BAGGING. 
 
 IN-COMPRESSED BALES COVERED WITH COTTON BAGGING. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 022 267 770 1