398 ANNUAL EEPOKTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



plaint and answer, as was the case in March, thereby saving the time 

 required for a respondent's answer. 



On account of the replacement disputes which arose from cotton 

 found untenderable by this department in disputes determined during 

 the month of May, the work continued to be very heavy during the 

 month of June. 



Recapitulution of disputes handled to June 30, 1915. 



Bales. 



During March there were 35 disputes on March deliveries, involving- 2, 504 

 During April there were 7 disputes on March deliveries, involving- 715 

 During April there were 2 replacement disputes on Blarch deliv- 

 eries, involving 148 



During May there were 3 replacement disputes on March deliv- 

 eries, involving 74 



During May there were 4 disputes on April deliveries, involving — 413 



During May there were 367 disputes on May deliveries, involving 35,229 



During June there were 261 replacement disputes on May deliveries, 



involving 3, 240 



During June there were 24 disputes on May deliveries, involving 2,450 



To June 30 there were 703 disputes, involving 44, 773 



The amount of costs assessed against the parties at interest for 

 the hearing of the disputes up to June 30, 1915, amounted to 

 $15,068.80, which was turned into the Treasury as miscellaneous re- 

 ceipts, in accordance with the provisions of the United States cotton- 

 futures act. 



The work under this project is being supervised by the chief, 

 assisted by Mr. W. R. Meadows. 



The findings in the disputes are prepared by Messrs. T. B. Mills, jr., 

 G. R. Argo, R. A. Freret, E. T. Chassaignac, and A. M. Agelasto. 



PREPARATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE OFFICIAL COTTON STANDARDS OF 



THE UNITED STATES. 



The appropriation act for the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909, contained an item 

 which enabled the department to undertake investigations in the 

 standardization of cotton. Subsequent appropriation acts provided 

 for the continuation and extension of the work on cotton standardiza- 

 tion and the distrilmtion by sale of copies of the permissive stand- 

 ards, prepared and approved by the department under the act 

 referred to. These standards were permissive and no concerted 

 effort was made to secure their adoption by the trade. On subsequent 

 examination it was found that the standards for the low grades were 

 not typical of a sufficient proportion of these grades as produced in 

 the cotton belt to make them of the greatest value. They were modi- 

 fied, therefore, to accord more accurately with the true requirements. 



The new official standards were provided for by the United States 

 cotton-futures act approved August 18, 1914. On December 15, 

 1914, after the work herein described, the Secretary of Agriculture 

 established and promulgated these modified standards for the nine 

 grades of cotton : Middling Fair, Strict Good Middling, Good Mid- 

 dling, Strict Middling, INIiddling, Strict Low Middling, Low Mid- 

 dling, Strict Good Ordinary, and Good Ordinary. 



