MARKETING COTTON 479 



of lint cotton about 54 inches long, 44 inches wide, and 24 

 inches thick. Round bales averaging 250 pounds in weight 

 are sometimes made. These are more compact than the 

 square bale arid are made with less injury to the fiber, as the 

 sheet of lint is wound directly upon a cylinder as it comes from 

 the gin. Before cotton is shipped any considerable distance, 

 the square bale is compressed to reduce the bulk, the 42 to 46 

 inches of width being reduced to 20 inches. The other 

 dimensions are not changed. In this form, the cotton of the 

 South is shipped to the markets of the world. 



626. Marketing. Cotton is usually sold to local buyers 

 or to representatives of large consumers of the lint. The 

 sales are usually for cash, and a large part of the crop is sold 

 as soon as it is ginned. It is then stored in warehouses 

 awaiting shipment, is shipped at once to the mills, or, if 

 purchased for export, is forwarded to one of the coast cities. 

 Galveston, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Savannah, 

 Georgia, are among the principal export cities. The grower 

 may, however, store his cotton in a warehouse to be sold at 

 some future time or may return it to his farm. The seed is 

 either returned to him from the ginnery or purchased by the 

 ginner, who in turn sells it to an agent of the oil mill. 



627. Market Grades. The price of cotton is governed 

 largely by its commercial grade, determined by a sample 

 from the surface of the bale. The grades depend on the 

 length and strength of the staple and upon its uniformity. 

 The highest grade is known as "fair," while the lowest is 

 "ordinary." Between these two there are five other grades, 

 known as middling fair, good middling, middling, low mid- 

 dling, and good ordinary. Between each two of these grades 

 are still others, called by certain modifications of the names 

 given. Cleanliness and weather injury often have as much 

 influence on cotton prices as the actual grade of the cotton. 



