COTTON 223 



with such care as its importance demands. It now 

 comes in all sizes, varies greatly as to weight, may 

 or may not have been damaged by rain and ex- 

 posure. Then, too, it is poorly covered. Often 

 the covering is torn, allowing the lint to drop out, 

 subjecting the American bale to the charge that it 

 is " the clumsiest, dirtiest, most expensive and most 

 wasteful package in which cotton, or in fact any 

 commodity of like value, is anywhere put up." 



What do you do with your cotton when it conies 

 back from the gin? Your neighbors put theirs 

 under the apple tree or in the barn lot, or in some 

 open exposed place, where rain and dust attack 

 and damage it ; even pigs are allowed access to cot- 

 ton bales as places to clean their muddy backs. 



This constant loss is of course the farmer's, 

 and no one else's. Even the waste due to bagging 

 and ties is the farmer's loss, although he seldom 

 realizes it. The usual tare percentage is placed 

 at six, which means a reduction of 24 pounds for a 

 400 pound bale, and 30 pounds for a 500 pound 

 bale. While this feature of tare is but slightly 

 discussed or considered in this country, it always 

 calls for a deduction in the great manufacturing 

 centers abroad and so has its effect on cotton prices. 



