HANDLIXG AXD MAEKETING OF ARIZONA-EGYPTIAN COTTON. 11 



average price for the various grades composing it, the high or best 

 grades do not yield a just return, and the farmer does not receive a 

 fair value for his product. The farmer whose low grades are bought 

 at the same price, however, receives too high a price, but it is at the 

 expense of the farmer who is selling the high-grade cotton. 



MARKETING OF ARIZONA-EGYPTIAN COTTON. 



In 1913 and in 1914 the cotton associations of Arizona, after con- 

 ference with officers of the department, sent a representative to New 

 York, Boston, Providence, and other American cotton markets in 

 which Egyptian cotton is sold. In 1914, through the Committee on 

 Southwestern Cotton Culture, arrangements were also made for send- 

 ing this agent on to England, France, and Germany to introduce the 

 Arizona staple cotton in those countries, and arrangements were 

 made for selling it. The declaration of war in August, 1914, how- 

 ever, caused all agreements to be canceled. Marketing conditions 

 being abnormal in 1914, the descriptions of the work of these two 

 seasons are given separately. 



In 1913 members of the Southwestern Cotton Committee of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture met with the members of 

 the Arkwright Club of Boston, which is an organization composed of 

 the leading spinners of New England, at the invitation of that club. 

 Types of the Arizona-Egyptian cotton were exhibited and the quality 

 of the cotton and other phases of the subject were discussed, and the 

 members of the Arkwright Club apparently were very favorably 

 mpressed with the new long-staple crop of Arizona. 



Also in this year a representative of the cotton growers of the Salt 

 River Valley was given authority to sell, or to make the best arrange- 

 ment possible, for all cotton belonging to members of the exchanges 

 of the Salt River Valley. Types of the various grades and actual 

 tagged samples, which represented lots of 50 bales each in even- 

 running grade and staple, were made up and sent by this representa- 

 tive to show the quality of this cotton. 



Sales of a part of the crop belonging to the members of the asso- 

 ciation were made direct to the cotton mills; the remainder was 

 consigned to cotton brokers, who advanced from 12^- to 15 cents per 

 pound, according to the class of cotton. This cotton was afterwards 

 sold as classed out at prices that compared very favorably with sales 

 made under similar market conditions of Egyptian cotton of similar 

 staph- and grade which was imported into this country. A small lot 

 of the Arizona-Egyptian cotton was consigned to Liverpool, and on 

 arrival in that market the greater portion of the cotton was sold at 

 ;i rerygood price. These sales of the Arizona- Egyptian cotton serve 

 to illustrate its comparative value with the Egyptian-grown cotton 

 of imilar grade and staple. 



