MARKET CLASSES OR GRADES OF COTTON 



295 



The cotton should also be protected from injury by weather 

 until marketed. When exposed to rain it is somewhat damaged, 

 but the loss by this means is sometimes more than balanced by the 

 increase in market price while it is held. Good packing and tight 

 baling will do much to avoid damage to cotton during the storage 

 period. Cotton is sometimes put in round bales which are made 

 under heavy pressure. Rebaling or further compression is then 

 not necessary. 



Sea Island cotton is often ginned with machines of different 

 types from the common saw gins. The seeds in this type of cotton 

 are naked and are easily separated from the lint by means of rollers. 



Courtesy Johnson & Johnson. 



FIG. 195. Interior view of gin showing the cotton as it comes from the gin ready for baling. 



The roller type of gin was in use in India for centuries before the 

 invention of the American machine by Whitney and Holmes, in 

 1792. 



The invention of the gin and its development into the modern 

 saw tooth cotton gin has done more to advance the cotton growing 

 industry than anything else. The slow process of removing the 

 seeds by hand greatly increased the cost. Only about one pound 

 of lint could be removed from the seed in one day by the average 

 workman. 



Market Classes or Grades of Cotton. In the markets cotton 

 is closely graded and the price varies according to the grade. 

 The market standards or grade names of cotton in order of value 



