382 ANNUAL EEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



cotton produced by the Salt River Valley Cotton Growers' Associa- 

 tion, samples being assembled at Tempe from Chandler, Mesa, and 

 Glendale. Besides the classing of 5,000 bales for this association 

 assistance and advice was given in the picking, ginning, and market- 

 ing of the cotton. The report of these activities has been submitted 

 for publication in Department Bulletin No. 311: The Handling and 

 Marketing of the Arizona-Egyptian Cotton of the Salt River Valley. 



As representatives of the committee on southwestern cotton cul- 

 ture of the clepartment a member of the staff of this office, and 

 an expert of the Bureau of Plant Industry, were sent to Eng- 

 land and the Continent in connection Avith an investigation into the 

 spinning of the finer grades of Egyptian and other staple cotton, with 

 special reference to such cottons produced by organized communities 

 in the United States with a view to determining the present markets 

 for these staples as a basis for informing the producers concerning 

 the discriminations made by the consumers so that they might be 

 fully and directly informed in these matters. Copies of the five 

 tentative grades for the Arizona-Egyptian cotton crop were for- 

 warded to Europe, and the manager of the Central Association of 

 Cotton Growers at Mesa, Ariz., accompanied the department's rep- 

 resentatives to display these grades before the cotton exchanges, 

 merchants, and spinners of England and the Continent. 



The work of this project has been conducted by Messrs. Fred 

 Taylor, W. R. Meadows, D. C. Griffith, J. G. Martin, C. J. McCon- 

 nell, C. F. Creswell, and L. W. Kellner. 



COTTON WAREHOUSE INVESTIGATIONS. 



During the latter part of the fiscal year 1914 work in cotton-ware- 

 house investigations was begun, in connection with the project Cotton 

 Handling and Marketing. This work was under the direct supervi- 

 sion of the chief, but was performed by Mr. R. L. Nixon, assisted 

 during the latter part of the year by Mr. R. L. Newton. 



Objects. — When the work was first undertaken an attempt was 

 made to secure a complete list of all cotton storage houses in the 

 States of Georgia and North Carolina. Since the work has been 

 completed in these States, it has been extended gradually to the 

 other States in the cotton belt. While the warehouse list is not yet 

 complete, there has been compiled a list of 4,227 cotton storage and 

 compress companies. Efforts have been made to secure complete 

 data in regard to the total storage capacity of all the warehouses, 

 especially in Georgia and North Carolina, the customary charges 

 for storage, the rate of insurance on cotton stored in these build- 

 ings, the location of the warehouses now in use, with reference to 

 production and to shipping centers, and other factors affecting cotton 

 in storage. Much useful information was collected, some of which 

 has been tabulated and published. 



Procedure. — The work was conducted first by correspondence, 

 then by visiting a large number of representative warehouses and 

 conferring personally with warehousemen, cotton dealers, State offi- 

 cials, farmers, and others interested in the economical handling and 

 marketing of cotton. Special efforts were made to determine the 

 economic importance of the warehouse in handling cotton, and espe- 

 cially in protecting it from fire and country damage. Efforts were 



