68 ANNUAL HEI'OHTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



has never before been accomplished, and the inability to preserve 

 the integrity of the standard adopted has been one of the principal 

 causes of the failure of the attempts heretofore made by the various 

 branches of the cotton industry to agree upon a uniform standard 

 of classification. 



With a view to encouraging improved methods in the ginning and 

 handling of cotton, experimental and demonstration work on a com- 

 mercial scale has been undertaken. It is hoped that these experi- 

 ments will give an accurate measure of the increased value which 

 can be given to the cotton crop by a more careful regulation of the 

 speed of the ordinary cotton gin, by better bagging, the protection 

 of cotton from exposure to weather, and by securing greater uni- 

 formity within the bale. The effects of storing seed cotton under 

 different conditions and for different periods are also being investi- 

 gated. 



The improved method of measuring the length of cotton fiber 

 which has been developed has justified all that has been hoped for 

 it. The method has been demonstrated before important gatherings 

 of prominent members of the cotton industry, and has been received 

 with great interest and pronounced approval. 



PAPER-PLANT INVESTIGATIONS. 



During the year a total of about 3 tons of paper has been made 

 from cornstalks, broom-corn stalks, nonsaccharine sorghum stalks, 

 rice straw, properly retted and overretted hemp stalks, sorghum 

 bagasse, canes from southern canebrakes, " rice-root " grass tops, 

 and fish-pole bamboo. Good qualities of book paper resulted in prac- 

 tically all cases, and several of the materials have proved sufficiently 

 promising as to yield of pulp and quality of paper to warrant more 

 detailed investigation. 



The results with cornstalks have been more encouraging, as higher 

 yields of pulp in proportion to raw material have been secured. 

 Special attention has been paid to securing food-extract by-products 

 that may be used in feeding cattle. Several hundred gallons of 

 cornstalk extract evaporated to the consistency of molasses have 

 been produced, and preliminary feeding tests have been carried on 

 with dairy cattle and hogs. From these it appears that the extract 

 may have considerable nutritive value. The value of this by-product 

 and the cost of securing it will probably determine whether or not 

 cornstalks can become an important paper-making material in the 

 near future. 



FIBER CONGRESS IN JAVA. 



In response to a request from the Netherlands Government, the 

 botanist in charge of fiber-plant investigations was sent as a delegate 

 to represent this Government at the International Fiber Congress 



