22 BULLETIN 216, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In comparing the cost of the corrugated iron warehouses in 

 Georgia and Oklahoma, it is well to remember that most of the build- 

 ings in Georgia have wooden floors with costb brick foundations, 

 while most of those in Oklahoma have dirt floors, which are very- 

 much cheaper and carry a lower insurance rate. It is also true that 

 many of the houses in Oklahoma have been erected expressly for the 

 storage of cotton, while some of the houses in Georgia are used both 

 for cotton and other products, which general use is responsible for a 

 higher rate of insurance. 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 



BENEFITS TO BE DERIVED PROM A SYSTEM OF WAREHOUSES. 



It would be impossible to enumerate all of the benefits, direct and 

 indirect, that might be derived from the inauguration of an ample 

 a id efficient system of storage houses, but it is evident that such a 

 system would be of great assistance in handling and financing the 

 cotton crop. It would benefit not only the farmer but the merchant, 

 the local banker, and other business men. A storage system prop- 

 erly operated and used would eventually free the cotton farmer from 

 the present destructive credit system. It would improve conditions 

 in the cotton market. Much ' ' country damage " and loss from unnec- 

 essary sampling would be prevented, and much of the duplication in 

 handling and marketing cotton under the present complex system 

 would be eliminated. Such a system would enable the farmer to 

 distribute the sales of cotton throughout the year, and in this way 

 avoid depressed prices. Under present conditions the farmer rushes 

 his cotton to market as fast as it can be picked and ginned, and thus 

 "bears" his own market. 



DIFFICULTIES UNDER PRESENT CONDITIONS. 



There are many disadvantages connected with the storage business 

 as conducted at present, and there are serious difficulties that must 

 be overcome before an adequate system can be inaugurated. The 

 present facilities are poorly distributed and frequently not available 

 to the farmer. The service rendered by many of the companies is 

 poor, and their charges, including insurance, are unusually high owing 

 to the small amount of cotton ordinarily stored by the farmer. His 

 business is undesirable, for it is much more trouble to handle cotton in 

 small lots. The cotton mills do not encourage the farmer to store his 

 cotton, as their usual practice is to make a general allowance for tare 

 and damage. This average is charged against all cotton, whether it 

 reaches the mill in good or bad condition, so there is little incentive 

 for the farmer and trade in general to go to any trouble or extra ex- 

 pense in protecting the staple. The farmer, therefore, receives prac- 

 tically no benefit from the system now in operation, and it is not at all 



