2 BULLETIN 375^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



On the otlier hand, in some primary markets there is an advantage 

 to the producer who sells baled cotton to the local merchants, as 

 many of them allow the full market price and sometimes a premium 

 in order to collect accounts, to sell goods, and to gain the good will of 

 the farmer. The producer who sells in the seed can not take advan- 

 tage of such circumstances, as the merchants usually do not buy seed 

 cotton. 



The sale of unginned cotton is encouraged by many ginners, who 

 operate in close association with the oil-mill companies.^ The ginner 

 in buying allows for all the uncertain elements of the business, and 

 in making an offer, aims to secure a profit in addition to his regular 

 ginning charge. 



The ginner usually separates his seed cotton into about three grades, 

 but without regard to variety, character, or length of staple — a 

 practice which necessarily results in a mixture of the different grades 

 and the different lengths of staple which are produced in a com- 

 munity. Sooner or later this condition will be discovered by dis- 

 criminating buyers and can not fail to reflect on the local market 

 to the detriment of the cotton producer. 



This method of marketing also has a retarding influence on efforts 

 for the improvement in varieties. It is difficult, if not impossible, 

 for the gTower to obtain from the ginner his own seed for planting; 

 and the farmer is encouraged to improve his product with the sole 

 object of increasing the yield of seed cotton per acre. Grade and 

 staple are given so little consideration by the buyer of seed cotton 

 that these qualities frequently are treated with indifference by the 

 grower and little attention is given to improvement in the quahty of 

 the fiber. The better cotton, when sold m the seed, brings so small 

 a premium over the lower grades that it does not warrant the extra 

 care necessary to its production, and the grower is thus encouraged 

 to bring to market inferior cotton which often contains an excess of 

 trash, dirt, and moisture. 



The Bureau of Crop Estimates of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture in January, 1916, estimated, from reports of their corre- 

 spondents and agents, the percentages of cotton sold in the seed in 

 the several cotton-producing States. These percentages have been 

 applied to the Census Bureau figures of cotton production for the 

 growth years 1912 to 1915, inclusive, for the purpose of estimating the 

 total number of bales sold in the seed in the several States during 

 these years. Table I is presented to show these estimates. 



1 /See Sherman, Wells A., Taylor, Fred, and Brand, Charles J.: Studies of Primary Cotton Market 

 Conditions in Oklahoma. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 36. 1913. 



