468 ANNUAL EEPOETS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



During tlie present emergency it is exceedingly important that all 

 gins cooperate in standardizing the dimensions of cotton bales, and 

 ginners who have not ado]>ted the standard 54 hy 27-inch gin box 

 were urged to do so immediately. 



Experiments made in cooperation with the project "Cotton Test- 

 ing" indicate that cotton of the various staple lengths which have 

 been tested may safely be compressed to a density of 35 pounds per 

 cubic foot without damaging the spinning qiiality of the fiber. Owing 

 to congested transportation conditions, high compression is desirable, 

 as less car space is necessary to move cotton so compressed. High 

 density compression is being urged by the bureau in cooperation 

 with the War Industries and Shipping Boards and the Railroad 

 Administration. 



MARKETING COTTON SEED AND ITS PRODUCTS. 



The work in marketing cotton seed and its products is conducted 

 by Mr. C. F. Creswell under the supervision of Mr. Fred Taylor. 



Conditions surrounding the transportation of cotton seed are being 

 investigated to determine the extent of cross shipments and the per- 

 centage of foreign matter (oil, meal, hulls, and linters) contained in 

 commercial lots of cotton seed from various sections. An enormous 

 amount of useless foreign matter is mixed and transported with 

 cotton seed annually. This practice recjuires the use of many addi- 

 tional freight cars and entails, in the aggregate, enormous charges for 

 freight and handling expenses, wear on machinery, and danger to the 

 health of workmen. Efforts are being made to ameliorate this evil by 

 educational work. The Department of Agriculture, through the 

 Bureau of Chemistry, recently ruled that the return of foreign matter 

 to cotton seed after separation at the gin, or the deliberate addition 

 of foreign matter to cotton seed, constitutes an adulteration under 

 the provisions of the Federal food and drugs act. This ruling should 

 assist greatly in putting a stop to this practice. 



As a means toward the elimination of waste and the improvement of 

 marketing conditions, the feasibility of establishing practical grade 

 standards for cotton seed has been studied. It has been found that 

 there is a general desire for such standards, and as a result of confer- 

 ences with representatives of this bureau, the Interstate Cotton Seed 

 Crushers' Association has officially announced a basis for standard- 

 ization devised by the bureau which has been incorporated in the 

 rules of that association. 



Conditions governing the handling and marketing of cotton linters 

 have been investigated. Special attention has been given to the 

 different qualities of linters and to the practicability of standardizing 

 this commodity. Four tentative standards for linters have been pre- 

 pared by this bureau and have been recommended by the War Indus- 

 tries Board for use in the purchase and sale of all unsold linters of 

 the 1917 crop, which are of higher grade than munition linters. 

 ©wing to the great demand for munition purposes, oil mills have 

 increased the cutting of linters from about 50 pounds per ton of 

 seed to a minimum of 150 pounds, sometimes cutting as much as 225 

 pounds to a ton of seed. Consequently, mattress, oatting, and felt 

 makers, as well as other manufacturers, have been obliged prac- 

 tically to discontinue the use of linters on account of the high prices 

 prevailing, their low quaUty, and scarcity. 



