414 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

 AGBICULTURAL-TECHNOLOGY INVESTIGATIONS. 



The investigations of problems is agricultural technology pertain- 

 ing to cotton, field crops, and paper plants have been continued under 

 the direction of Dr. N, A. Cobb. 



COTTON STANDARDIZATION. 



Official cotton grades. — The preparation and distribution of the 

 official cotton grades has continued throughout the year. The demand 

 for them has increased steadily up to date. Improved facilities made 

 it practicable to reduce the price of a full set first to $30 and later to 

 $25. Generally where the grades were originally placed with schools, 

 colleges, exchanges, warehouses, etc., for the purpose of familiarizing 

 the cotton industry with them, they were finally purchased, and 131 

 sets were sold during the year. The types are now distributed in 

 25 domestic States and in England, Germany, France, Italy, India, 

 Brazil, and Mexico. 



The work of placing 50 sets of the original standard in vacuum 

 storage, to be used as working duplicates in the future, in order that 

 the integrity of the grades may be preserved, was finished during 

 the year. The 5,400 tubes in which these samples were stored were 

 furnished, evacuated, and sealed under contract conditions that in- 

 sure adequate vacuum. No such system has ever before been put 

 into effect, and it is probably one of the largest undertakings of its 

 kind ever attempted. 



Methods of handling cotton. — The effort to ascertain the addi- 

 tional price that cotton mills can afford to pay for cotton handled 

 in an improved manner has progressed satisfactorily. To this end 

 small lots of cotton were bought in the field and shipped to selected 

 mills in various parts of the country. Pure-strain cotton of known 

 variety was ginned under our own supervision, and the bales were 

 completely covered with burlap. The weight, grade, length, and 

 soundness of the cotton were guaranteed. There were no reclama- 

 tions, the guaranties with every shipment having proved satisfac- 

 tory. This cotton has now been spun, and the reports from the mills 

 indicate that from 75 cents to $2 per 500-pound bale additional could 

 be paid by the mills for cotton handled in this way. These esti- 

 mates are based on the following facts: (1) There is less waste in 

 handling and sampling, as the bales are completely covered; (2) 

 the cotton is more uniform in the bale, hence there is less waste in 

 the mills; (3) a reasonable guaranty of the sort given very much 

 reduces the cost of arbitration; (4) the expenses connected with 

 buying are less. 



Wlien the saving in insurance (through the use of completely cov- 

 ered bales) and in transportation (by compressing at the gin) are 

 added it will be seen that these experiments dispel doubt as to the 

 feasibility of introducing very important improvements in the 

 methods of handling cotton. The figures obtained are those of a 

 single season's investigations, which are to be continued so that the 

 results may be checked by data gathered in a succession of seasons 

 and with the object of ascertaining what further improvements are 

 possible. 



