PRODUCTION OF AMERICAN" EGYPTIAN COTTON. 19 



that year. A cotton-grading- expert was detailed' from the Office of 

 Markets and Rural Organization* (now the Bureau of Markets) to 

 cooperate with the growers' association for this purpose. The work 

 was continued in 1914, the standards having been perfected and 

 arrangements having been made for spinning tests in order that the 

 cotton might be placed on a sound basis of market value. The scope 

 and preliminary results of this standardization work were described 

 in a report from the Office of Markets and Rural Organization. 1 In 

 1916 and 1917 similar investigations were conducted with the new 

 Pima cotton, which, because of its longer and lighter colored fiber, 

 required the establishment of new standards of grade and staple. 



MARKETING THE CROP. 



In the six years of commercial production of Egyptian cotton in 

 Arizona the marketing of the crop has been attended by various 

 vicissitudes, and the problem has not yet been completely solved. 

 Until very recently the quantity produced was too small to permit 

 active competitive buying, and at times the danger of monopoly by 

 a single buying firm has been acute. Moreover, the small quantity 

 of the product also made it difficult for buyers to interest spinners in 

 these new cottons even when their spinning value had become well 

 recognized. The growers have not thus far succeeded in establish- 

 ing an effective selling organization on a cooperative basis, but if 

 this can be done and the transportation difficulties which have recently 

 been experienced can be overcome, the rapidly increasing size of the 

 crop should greatly facilitate its disposal. Although differences of 

 opinion exist among spinners as to the comparative merits of Ameri- 

 can Egyptian, Sakellaridis, and Sea Island cottons, there is substan- 

 tial agreement that the Arizona and California product meets a real 

 requirement in the long-staple cotton market. 



It should be noted that ever since the establishment of the indus- 

 try the crop has been sold each year in open competition with the 

 vastly larger crop produced in Egypt. The effective organization of 

 the Arizona growers and the intelligent application of the best prin- 

 ciples in growing, handling, and marketing the crop and in main- 

 taining the seed supply are largely responsible for this satisfactory 

 result. 



MAINTENANCE OF THE SEED SUPPLY. 



It was pointed out in an earlier publication 2 what steps should be 



taken by the associated growers and what kind of assistance the 



— • 



1 Martin, J. G. The handling and marketing of the Arizona-Egyptian cotton of the Salt 

 River Valley. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 311, 16 p., 3 pi. 1915. 



2 Kearney, T. H. Seed selection of Egyptian cotton. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 38, 8 p. 

 1913. 



