PRIMARY MARKET PRICES AND QUALITIES OF COTTON. 



9 



product. In considering this subject it must be remembered that 

 this survey did not embrace the long-staple sections, and its results 

 are not representative of conditions as they exist in those commu- 

 nities. 



The average staple length, compiled from the 38,000 samples 

 collected in the survey, was found to be between fifteen-sixteenths 

 of an inch and 1 inch. 



Table 3. — Average price for 



each staple and average staple length l for 



each State. 



Slate. 



Aver- 

 age 

 staple 

 length. 



Price per pound for staple of the following lengths: 



I inch. 



■H-inch. 



I inch. 



flinch. 



1 inch. 



1* 1 

 inches. 



inches. 





Inches. 

 0.955 

 .915 

 .93 

 .98 

 1.02 

 .98 

 .95 

 .98 

 .96 



Cents. 

 12.89 

 11.70 

 12.59 

 11.33 

 10.50 

 11.12 

 1L63 

 12.03 

 13.23 



Cents. 

 13. 11 

 12.35 

 12.52, 



11.50 

 9.94 

 11.93 

 13.13 

 12.90 



Cents. 

 12.94 

 12.86 

 1L70 

 11.28 

 10.59 

 11.05 

 11.82 

 12.94 

 12.95 



Cents. 

 13.01 

 13. 19 

 12.39 

 11.05 

 U.29, 

 11.41 

 12.05 

 12.93 

 12.97 



Cents. 

 13. 09 

 12. 58 

 13.11 

 11 19 

 UL73 

 11.83 

 12.06 

 13.01 

 12.91 



Cents. 



13.14 



13. 30 , 



13.27 



10. 87 



11.21 



11.90 



11.87 



13.13 



13.06 



Cents. 

 13. 09 





13.17 





11. 53 





10.94 





12.75 





12.87 





12.57 





13.31 





13.00 











12.73 



12.28 



12.28 



12.76 



12.58 



12.12 



12.76 









Total number of samples of 





457 



556 



6,840 



7,510 



10,084 



2,275 



1,191 









1 These averages relate to white cotton only. However, the average length of staple for the colored cotton 

 was practically the same. 



Table 3 shows that length of staple often does not receive proper 

 consideration in pricing the farmer's cotton. A careful study of 

 Table 3 will show that the average price paid for cotton of f-inch 

 staple was as high as that secured by the producer of 1-inch cotton, 

 while the latter is worth probably $5 more per bale for spinning pur- 

 poses. In this connection it might be well to quote from a recent 

 issue of the Farmers' Market Bulletin, published by the North Caro- 

 lina Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with the State 

 Department of Agriculture and the College of Agriculture, April, 

 1916, edition. 



The difference in mill value between different staples varies according to the 

 demand and supply. In a section in which the producers know what staple they 

 have, they are reported to receive 25 points more for yf-inch staple than f-inch staple, 

 which is the basis; 50 points more for 1-inch, 100 points more for 1-^, 250 points more 

 for 1£, and 400 points more for 1^-inch staple. According to these figures, a farmer in 

 such a section of the country would receive $2.50 more for a 500-pound bale if it were 

 1-inch than he would if it had been ^-inch. 



The injustice of the situation is emphasized when it is shown that 

 f-inch staple frequently brings the same price as staple of 1^ inch, 

 and occasionally the same as staple of 1| inch, when, according 

 to the statement quoted above, 1| inch is worth $17.50 more than 

 f-inch staple. It might be suggested that the difference in favor of 

 the f-inch cotton was caused by the fact that shorter staples usually 



