COTTON 143 



cotton bale so exposed may weigh a bit more, on 

 the other its quality is lessened. It is, therefore, 

 doubtful if the advantage of water weight is not 

 overcome by the loss in quality, and subsequent 

 lower price. This cotton secret has been so gen- 

 erally exposed that consumers are now on the look- 

 out for it. Even though the buyer in your immedi- 

 ate locality is not discriminating, ultimate buyers 

 and the consumers are, and they pay less for the 

 bales that have not been protected from the ele- 

 ments. Somebody along the lines, therefore, 

 profits by discrimination, but in the long run it is 

 not the cotton producer. 



The market problem is also very troublesome. If 

 cotton were marketed gradually as are other crops, 

 there would be less variation in the prices that rule 

 from September to July. The many growers who 

 are forced to market early force the price down- 

 ward to the joy of the speculators, and millions are 

 lost to cotton growers, much of which is pocketed 

 by cotton middlemen. It follows that it is a wise 

 plan to keep out of the hands of storekeepers and 

 money lenders. All cotton growers should preach 

 the gospel of independence and urge their brother 

 growers to raise the home supplies in order to keep 

 out of debt. To be in debt for fertilizers and provi- 

 sions is to jeopardize the value of cotton. When 

 forced to sell cotton in the early market with the 

 price low and the demand small, the weakest grower 

 gets the long end of the pull and he finds it difficult 

 to keep going. If one is not in debt to the store or to 

 a money lender or cotton factor, he will be able to 

 market his crops slowly and as the price justifies. 



COWPEAS. Too much cannot be said in praise 

 of the cowpea. What clover is to the North, the 



