HANDLING AND MARKETING OF ARIZONA-EGYPTIAN COTTON. 3 



As a whole, the picking in the Salt River Valley was very fair, as 

 will be seen by Tables I, II, and III, which show a good average 

 grade. Table II shows that by careful and clean picking the greater 

 portion of the crop can be made to grade Choice and above. It will 

 be noted that there were only 72 bales of Medium and 274 bales of 

 Standard out of the crop of 1,237 bales ginned at Mesa. 



STORAGE OF SEED COTTON. 



The storage capacity for seed cotton at the gins was inadequate 

 during both seasons, and as there were no seed-cotton houses on the 

 farms, the cotton in a great many instances had to be piled in a corner 

 of the field, on the ground, until enough could be accumulated to 

 make up a wagonload. The majority of the farmers live at a con- 

 siderable distance from the gins, and the expense of hauling only a 

 fraction of a wagonload is prohibitive. At the same time, the cotton 

 left on the ground was subject to damage by exposure to heat, heavy 

 dews, and rams. Seed cotton, loaded in wagons, was left standing 

 in the fields, hi barnyards, and at the gins. The cotton neglected in 

 this manner was subject to damage by exposure, as it absorbed a 

 certain amount of moisture and was ginned damp. Damp or wet 

 cotton does not gin smoothly, but produces a curly and matted 

 condition of the fiber, which lowers its grade and value. Unfortu- 

 nately, the result was very marked in this case. In January, after 

 a period of rainy weather which lasted several days, some of the 

 cotton was so wet when ginned that the friction of the rollers against 

 the knife-edge heated the cotton greatly, thus subjecting it to undue 

 damage. The curly condition due to the ginning of wet cotton was 

 very noticeable after each ram. 



GINNING THE ARIZONA-EGYPTIAN COTTON. 



The first half of the crop ginned in 1913 contained a great many 

 crushed seed in the cotton; in fact, during the first part of the season 

 all of the roller-gin stands at Mesa and Chandler were crushing the 

 seed. It was found that the amount of crushed seed was greater at 

 the ends of the rollers, where at times whole seeds would work around 

 the end. Crevices were found in the rollers between the walrus-hide 

 strips, where the seed would catch and be conveyed to the knife-edges. 

 Here fchey would be crushed between the knife and the roller, passing 

 into the lint. This defect in the gins was discovered and remedied. 



The ginner at Chandler discovered that the rollers were 2 inches 

 too short for the frame of the gin. The rollers were extended to make 

 them the proper length, thereby preventing further crushing of seed. 

 With i In- fault corrected and the walrus-hide covering on the rollers 

 made -moot b and free from crevices, the gins worked with satisfactory 

 results. It- was also found that on dry and well-handled seed cotton 

 t In- l'hi- did excellent work. 



