12 BULLETIN" 311, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The best price obtained for this cotton in this country in 1913 was 

 22 cents, while a Liverpool merchant quickly bought the greater part 

 of th*e offerings sent there for llf pence, or 23| cents. At this time 

 an order was received from a mill at Fall River, Mass., for 10 bales. 

 As it was cheaper to reship to this country at a freight rate of 25 

 cents per hundred pounds than to ship from Mesa at a rate based on 

 less than a carload shipment at $3.25 per hundred pounds to Fall 

 River, 10 of the bales consigned to Liverpool were shipped back to 

 fill this order. 



In 1914 Mesa was selected by the department's representative as 

 the most central and convenient point for conducting the work 

 toward establishing standards for the crop and the marketing of it 

 according to these standards, because of its location in the district 

 of the greatest cotton production, and because the Central Associa- 

 tion of Egyptian Cotton Growers had established offices at that place 

 for the handling and selling of the cotton crop of its members. Here 

 headquarters was established and a suitable room was equipped for 

 classing cotton. 



The construction of a modern ginning plant at Tempe marked a 

 distinct step in the development of the Central Association and of 

 the Arizona-Egyptian industry during this year. The final satisfac- 

 tory outturn of the 1913 crop, the long haul to the Mesa gin, and the 

 inducements to an increased acreage caused the farmers to feel that 

 the construction of this gin would be a good investment. 



As the 1914 season was such an unusual one, and as the growers of 

 the Salt River Valley succeeded in obtaining a comparatively good 

 price for their cotton, a somewhat detailed description of the causes 

 and methods is given here. 



In the latter part of August, 1914, after the declaration of war by 

 the European powers, the association sold 200 bales of cotton at 

 prices equivalent to those on sales of similar grade made last season; 

 that is, 22 cents was obtained for Extra, 21 cents for Choice, and 

 19^ cents for Standard grade. This sale, No. 1, was made Sep- 

 tember 1, 1914, for 50 bales of Extra, 100 bales of Choice, and 50 

 bales of Standard cotton, respectively, half Sacaton and half River 

 staple, at the prices quoted above, f . o. b. Mesa or Tempe, and freight 

 allowance to mill points, less 22 pounds per bale tare, insurance, and 

 interest from time of payment of draft until cotton reached the mill, 

 final settlement being made on mill weights. 



On September 10, 1914, eastern brokers agreed to take on con- 

 signment 500 bales of cotton, advancing 15 cents on Extra, 14 cents 

 on Choice, 13^ cents on Standard, and 12 cents on Medium grade, 

 f. o. b. Mesa. This consignment was known as consignment No. 1. 



On September 15, 1914, the association made their second sale. 

 Sale No. 2 consisted of 200 bales of Standard at a slight decline from 

 the original price. 



