SPINNING TESTS OF UPLAND LONG-STAPLE COTTONS. 3 



not be drawn until corresponding tests can be made from the crops 

 of other years and on samples of the same varieties grown under 

 different conditions. 



In order to determine how the best strains of the new varieties 

 actually compared in spinning value with Delta cottons, arrange- 

 ments were made in the fall of 1912 for conducting a series of spin- 

 ning tests in cooperation with the New Bedford Textile School, New 

 Bedford, Mass. Owing to the miscarriage of two bales in transit, the 

 tests, which were made in May, 1913, included only five bales. These 

 represented four different varieties or strains grown in three entirely 

 distinct regions of production. Two of the bales are of similar origin 

 and represent an early and a late picking, with different methods of 

 handling the seed cotton. The tests showed these Upland cottons to 

 be of such high quality that publication of the results was withheld 

 with the intention of making similar tests on a much larger number 

 of samples and varieties from the crop of 1913. Such tests should 

 show whether the exceptional quality of some of the bales in the first 

 experiments was due in any degree to seasonal conditions. 



A very serious situation, however, now confronts the long-staple 

 cotton growers in the Southeast, in view of the fact that the crop 

 the Delta suffered comparatively little from weevil injury during the 

 past season. The prejudice of the spinners still persists against Up- 

 land staple from the Southeast, the movement of the crop of 1913 

 has been exceedingly slow, and during the latter part of the picking 

 season prices were very little above those of short cottons. There 

 is a serious disposition to abandon the long-staple industry just as 

 it is becoming well established on a thoroughly sound basis in the 

 new territory. These conditions make it advisable that both spin- 

 ners and growers be given all the information in the possession of 

 the department concerning the value of the new Upland staples. The 

 results of the spinning tests thus far made are accordingly presented 

 herewith. 



THE VARIETIES TESTED. 



The five bales of cotton actually tested were : One bale of Durango, 

 grown on the Brazos bottoms near Waco, Tex.; one bale of Colum- 

 bia, grown by C. H. Carpenter, near Easley, S. C. ; one bale of Lewis, 

 grown by E. P. Lewis, of Gastonia, N. C. ; two bales of Webber, 

 grown by E. W. Evans, Bennettsville, S. O, from highly-bred seed 

 produced by J. L. Coker & Co., Hartsville, S. C. Of these two bales, 

 Webber No. 1 was from cotton ginned in November immediately 

 after picking, and Webber No. 2 was from a pile of about 6,000 

 pounds of seed cotton picked about October 1 and stored six weeks 

 before ginning. 1 



1 For history of this storage experiment see : Brand, C. J., and Sherman, W. A., Be- 

 havior of seed cotton in farm storage. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant 

 Industry, Circular 123-B. 1913. 



