28 BULLETIN 36, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Samples from 58 bales collected at Okemah from sales made in 

 October and November were stapled and it was found that 13 bales 

 were of -j^'-inch, 37 bales of 1-inch, 2 bales of l^-inch, 5 bales of 

 l^-inch, and 1 bale of 1^-incfa cotton. It will be noted that in the 

 case of each of these three towns there are more bales of 1-inch cotton 

 than of any other length, and that in the aggregate the number of 

 bales falling below 1 inch is greater than the number in which the 

 cotton exceeds that length. 



For comparison with these figures the lengths of staple observed 

 in three towns in the western part of the State are of interest. Forty- 

 one bales sampled in Snyder during October and November com- 

 prised 15 bales of |-inch, 23 bales of {f-inch, and 3 bales of 1-inch 

 cotton. The 77 bales sampled at Ei.ck during the same period con- 

 tained 3 bales of ^f-inch, 19 bales of £-inch, 19 bales of ^f-inch, 35 

 bales of 1-inch, and 1 bale of l^-inch cotton. In 51 bales marketed 

 at Mangum during the month of November there were found to be 

 2 bales of |f-inch, 9 bales of £-inch, 25 bales of ^f-inch, 11 bales of 

 1-inch, and 4 bales of lgVinch cotton. 



It will be seen that in the western part of the State there are more 

 bales of {f-inch than of any other length and that there were almost 

 exactly as many bales above as below this length. 



This fact might be emphasized by the preparation of elaborate 

 tables, but it is sufficient for the purpose of this discussion to state 

 that the samples from over 3,000 bales collected from every part of 

 the State were stapled, with the general result that the regions in 

 the eastern part of the State which have a reputation for good staple 

 were found to have an actual average advantage of about tV inch. 

 Outside of the small district previously mentioned, lying near the 

 Red River, in the southeastern part of the State, it may be said in 

 general that there are no two important cotton-producing regions in 

 the State between which an average difference of more than | inch 

 in length of staple occurs and it is probably safe to say that there are 

 no two compresses in the State the cotton from which will show an 

 average difference of much over tV of an inch throughout the season. 



SELLING COTTON IN THE SEED. 



The sale of unginned cotton directly to ginners, who are usually 

 closely allied with the oil-mill interests, is still an important factor 

 in the marketing of the Oklahoma cotton crop. In the pioneer 

 stage of cotton production in this area this custom was much more 

 prevalent than it is at present, and under certain conditions there 

 is much to recommend it. When cotton is grown experimentally 

 or on small areas in communities which can not furnish an adequate 

 picking force, it is often a difficult matter for a farmer to accumulate 

 enough seed cotton to make a 500-pound bale, and the picking of 



