BUREAU OF MARKETS. 443 



Careful investigations have been made to determine the effect 

 of storing wheat and barley in concrete and steel bins. These studies 

 were conducted in cooperation with the Food Administration Grain 

 Corporation. Manitoba wheat, containing approximately 15 per cent 

 of moisture, was placed in large steel tanlis holding over 100,000 

 bushels. This wheat kept sweet for several weeks, although the tem- 

 perature of the air beneath the steel roofs during warm, bright days 

 reached 120 F. and higher during midday. There was no apparent 

 change in the wheat except that it lost moisture around the steel 

 sides and on top of the grain. This wheat was later transferred to 

 concrete tanks and its behavior in them is being studied. 



A cargo of wheat was accompanied from Philadelphia to Genoa, 

 Italy, to determine the effect of grade factors on the keeping qualities 

 of different lots of wheat during ocean transportation. In this con- 

 nection, two other cargoes of wheat shipped from the United States 

 were sampled at the Italian port of arrival and information was ob- 

 tained on their condition at the time of discharge. The data on this 

 work are being assembled for study in connection with efforts to 

 assure the arrival of American grain in good condition in foreign 

 ports and to perfect the gi'ain standards to meet the requirements 

 of ocean transportation. Samples have been collected from a boat 

 loading at Astoria, Oreg., to determine the carrying qualities of the 

 western-grown wheats which will pass through the Panama Canal 

 to Europe. 



COTTON HANDLING AND MARKETING. 



The investigational and demonstrational work connected with 

 cotton handling and marketing was conducted during the past year 

 under the direction of Mr. Fred Taylor and later, owmg to Mr. Tay- 

 lor's resignation, by ]Mr. D. E. Earle. Mr. Taylor also supervised, 

 imtil his departure, the projects " Marketing Cotton Seed and its 

 Products,'' *' Investigation and Demonstration of Cotton Standards," 

 " Cotton Testing," and " Preparation and Distribution of Official 

 Cotton Standards." 



Demonstrations have been made to accjuaint producers with the 

 desirabihty of classifying their cotton before sale and to teach them 

 how to use market quotations in determining the value of their crop. 

 Approximately *23G,8G0 bales were classed in this work in Texas, Ar- 

 kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina 

 during the cotton season 1918-19. In addition to this, representatives 

 of the Bureau assisted in organizing growers on a community basis, 

 demonstrated the depressing effect of short-staple varieties upon 

 prices, and pointed out losses incident to improper ginning, baling, 

 and storing. This work has resulted in the enactment of State laws 

 for the betterment of cotton-marketing conditions, especially in 

 Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. These ac- 

 tivities were conducted in cooperation with the extension divisions 

 in the various States. 



Texas growers, producing cotton of good staple and marketing it 

 cooperatively, receive from IJ to 8 cents more for their cotton than 

 was received for other cotton grown in the same community and 

 sold by individual farmers. 



A complete survey was made in Arkansas to determine the char- 

 acter of cotton produced and the conditions under which it was 

 marketed. Approximately 76,500 bales of cotton were classed at 



