4 BULLETIN 271, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Nature has dealt so generously with them that they have not been 

 compelled to realize the importance of saving. The South particu- 

 larly has been inclined to disregard the future. The present crisis in 

 the cotton market comes in a most unexpected manner and drives 

 home the lesson of the importance of conservation. The grain grow- 

 ers of the Middle West have long realized the absolute necessity of a 

 system of elevators for handling and storing their grain. Xow the 

 South realizes that a system of warehouses is essential for saving, 

 handling, and marketing the cotton crop. Many are suffering be- 

 cause they have been too short-sighted to take the necessary pre- 

 caution. Cotton lends itself more readily to storage than does any 

 other valuable farm product. In view of this, it seems strange that 

 storage has not been practiced. On the other hand, it is injured less 

 by exposure than are most products. This partly accounts for the 

 present attitude toward storage. Cotton does not demand storage; 

 consequently it is grossly neglected. 



FUNCTIONS OF A WAREHOUSE. 



A warehouse has three legitimate and very important functions: 



First, it offers temporary storage f acilities when the person owning 

 the product is not in a position to store it himself. In the cotton 

 business, hi normal years, this will cover the period from the time 

 the cotton is ginned until it is sold by the farmer. It also provides 

 the cotton dealer with a place in which to store his cotton from the 

 time it is purchased until it is shipped. 



Second, the warehouse should furnish the owner of the stored 

 product a negotiable receipt. This receipt should show definitely 

 what product is stored, the ownership, the amount of goods, the kind 

 or grade, the condition, and the location of the warehouse. It should 

 also show that the stored products are properly protected by insur- 

 ance. The legal holder of such a receipt would be protected as fully 

 as if he had the goods securely locked in his own vault. 



Third, the warehouse provides a reservoir for surplus during years 

 of overproduction or when market conditions are very unsatisfactory. 

 When there is a surplus of any product there should be some way of 

 saving it until there is a better demand for it. 



In keeping qualities, cotton is superior to all other agricultural 

 products. Properly stored it can be kept indefinitely without the 

 slightest deterioration. It seems remarkable that so little advantage 

 has been taken of this superior keeping quality. The fact that cot- 

 ton can be left in the weather for several months doubtless accounts 

 for some of the existing indifference to the subject. The South could 

 save millions of dollars in normal years by protecting cotton from 

 the weather. It is to be hoped that the lesson which is costing so 

 much now will result in the saving of many tunes the present loss in 



