' DURANGO COTTON IN THE IMPERIAL VALLEY. 7 



into the bale in even layers, the samples that are drawn from the 

 bale will be even and attractive to buyers. 



When the bale arrives at the mill and is opened, the cotton can 

 be taken off the bale in layers and mixed with other cotton with 

 the least amount of labor. When such cotton is run through the 

 pickers, cards, and combers, it not only will be easier to spin than 

 cotton that has been carelessly handled, but the loss in waste will 

 be much less, and the grower will reap the benefits to be derived from 

 a careful ginning, baling, and covering of his cotton. 



Up to the present time the local ginners have not given enough 

 attention to this matter, with the result that some of the bales of 



Fig. 3. — Pickings from one car of country-damaged cotton. 



cotton on sampling have resembled repacked cotton. The growers 

 and ginners of the valley can not afford to allow this loss to con- 

 tinue. 



It is a well-known fact that the American square bale is put up 

 in very poor material for handling and storing, and is the most 

 insufficiently covered bale put on the world's cotton markets. 1 This 

 complaint has been made not only by the spinning mills in the 

 United States, but by those in Canada, England, and Europe. The 

 loss in weight and damage to cotton that occurs while it is in transit 



1 Taylor, Fred, Griffith, D. C, and Atkinson, C. E. Ginning Information for Farmers. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 764, 1916. 



