2 BULLETIN 216, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



were sent to all ginners and cotton dealers in Georgia and North 

 Carolina asking for the names and addresses of all cotton-storage 

 companies, both public and private. A tentative warehouse list was 

 made up from the replies to this inquiry, and a letter and blank 

 asking for details as to cost of construction, storage capacity, insur- 

 ance rates, and charges for storage were sent to each individual or 

 company on the list. These were followed, in many cases, by other 

 inquiries and special correspondence. In addition to this, the writer 

 visited many of the warehouses and conferred with a large number 

 of warehousemen, cotton dealers, and others interested in the cotton 

 industry. 



In August, 1914, when it became apparent that the price of cotton 

 would be seriously depressed on account of a limited demand, it was 

 obvious that there would be an unusual demand for storage space. 

 In order to get data concerning storage facilities in the cotton- 

 producing States, a letter of inquiry was sent to all the county agents 

 of the Farmers' Cooperative Demonstration Work in the Southern 

 States. This letter asked for the names of all warehouse companies 

 in the sections where the various agents were located and the storage 

 capacity of the buildings operated by these companies. The agents 

 responded readily to this inquiry, and the results obtained enabled 

 us to form a good idea of the available storage facilities throughout 

 the South. In this connection it should be remembered that an 

 immediate report was requested from the county agents. This made 

 it impossible for them to make a very thorough investigation which 

 would enable them to report all storage houses. Many of the cotton- 

 producing counties have no agents, so the number of warehouses 

 reported from this source is further limited. In addition, many of 

 the nonproducing counties in the cotton belt where no agents are 

 stationed have warehouses with a large aggregate storage capacity. 

 Taking all of these facts into consideration it is quite evident that 

 the reports from the county agents necessarily are far short of the 

 actual number of warehouses in the various States. But these 

 reports are especially valuable as a basis for comparison of conditions 

 between the States where surveys have been made and the States 

 where no such investigations have been conducted. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE WAREHOUSE IN FINANCING THE COTTON CROP. 



Financing the cotton crop is one of the most difficult, and at the 

 same time one of the most important problems confronting the south- 

 ern farmer and the southern business man. In the light of all the 

 facts, it seems reasonable to state that but little cotton would be 

 stored or insured if it were not necessary to do so in order to negotiate 

 loans with cotton as collateral. The banks are entirely willing to 

 advance money on cotton on liberal terms when it is properly stored 



