394 ANNUAL REPORTS OP DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



stored in vacuum. The final standards for this Arizona-Egyptian 

 cotton are to be promulgated later, provided the tentative forms as 

 now prepared indicate proper relative qualities when submitted to 

 the spinning tests now in progress. 



The rules and regulations issued under the cotton futures act 

 provide that the standards that are used by the exchanges and spot 

 markets shall be inspected from time to time. When it is found that 

 they do not accord with the original standards, the owners are noti- 

 fied to that effect and the certifications are canceled. If the owners 

 so wish, they will be returned to Washington for correction. On 

 June 30, 13 firms had sent back 36 boxes, which were corrected and 

 returned to the firms. 



This work is conducted under the direct supervision of the Chief 

 of the Office of Markets and Rural Organization, assisted by Messrs. 

 Fred Taylor, D. E. Earle, W. R. Meadows, H. B. Parker, H. C. 

 Slade, W. C. Neal, D. C. Griffith, and Hal Brown. 



COTTON TESTING. 



Previous work on this subject has been reported by the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry. 



The probability of the discontinuance of the permissive standards 

 promulgated previous to the passage of the United States cotton 

 futures act made it inadvisable to continue spinning tests during the 

 last fiscal year on the basis of the old standards. The results of the 

 tests made on those standards have been prepared in manuscript and 

 may be issued in permanent form if conditions seem to justify it. 



Cotton representing the tentative standards of the five grades of 

 Arizona-Egyptian cotton, prepared in connection with investiga- 

 tional wo5:k on the commercial handling of cotton under the cotton 

 handling and marketing project (representing the five grade stand- 

 ards of the 1913 crop) has been tested during the present fiscal year 

 at the textile school. New Bedford, Mass. These tests are now being 

 repeated on the same tentative standards, using 1914 crop cotton, to 

 determine whether the relative values of the product made from these 

 grades coincide with the grades as prepared. The present status of 

 these tests seems to indicate that the Arizona-Egyptian cotton com- 

 pares very favorably with Sea Island and Egyptian, both as to waste 

 percentage and tensile strength. 



Bales representing the various grades of the official cotton stand- 

 ards of the United States, promulgated December 15, 1914, accord- 

 ing to the provisions of the cotton futures act and superseding the 

 old permissive standards, have been bought from the Coastal Plain 

 of the Atlantic States, the Piedmont section, and the Coastal Plain 

 and Black Land sections of Texas and Oklahoma, with a view to 

 making tests to determine the waste, tensile strength, and bleaching 

 qualities of the different grades and classes to determine their rela- 

 tive spinning values. 



This work is conducted under the direct supervision of the Chief 

 of the Office. A supervisory committee consisting of Messrs. Fred 

 Taylor, W. R. Meadows, and D. E. Earle renders assistance, together 

 with Messrs. W. S. Dean, T. C. Adams, and J. J. W. Cooper. 



