8 BULLETIN 62, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



SUMMARY. 



In accordance with the last appropriation bill of the Department 

 of Agriculture, tests as to the waste, tensile strength, and bleaching 

 qualities of the different grades of cotton as established by the Gov- 

 ernment have been carried on in order to ascertain certain facts which 

 would make the official cotton grades more useful and reliable. 



About 10 or 12 bales of each of the five grades Middling Fair, Good 

 ^Middling, Middling, Low Middling, and Good Ordmary , of both Atlantic 

 States Upland and Western Upland cotton of 1-inch staple, were 

 secured early in July, 1913. This cotton was stored at the Riverside 

 and Dan River Cotton Mills, Danville, Va., where the experiments 

 started on October 1. The Danville tests will be supplemented by 

 additional experiments made on a certain quantity of the same cotton 

 which has been sent to the textile department of Clemson Agricultural 

 College, Clemson, S. C, and to the North Carolina Agricultural and 

 Mechanical Textile School, at Raleigh, N. C. 



The average difference in percentage of visible waste between 

 Western Upland and Atlantic States Upland cotton was found to be 

 between 1 and 2 per cent, taking all the grades into consideration. 

 The differences are considerably greater in the lower grades than in 

 the higher grades. The mill-waste figures have been checked up by 

 hand separation of composite samples, and the figures from these 

 experiments are consistent with those obtained from the mill. 



Although the value of the visible waste from the various grades is 

 not yet determined, it appears certain that the valuation figures for 

 the waste of the two classes of cotton will be approximately equal, 

 weight for weight. 



Preliminary figures show the yarn from the two classes of cotton" 

 to be about equal in strength. 



The mill waste in the experiments to date varies from about 4 per 

 cent in Middling Fair to about 11 per cent in Good Ordinary, while the 

 figures for the other grades are more or less consistent. 



At the close of these experiments exhibits made from the material 

 reserved at each stage in the manufacture will be made to accompany 

 the full report. 



ADDITIONAL COPIES of this publication 

 -tx. may be procured from the Superintend- 

 ent OF Documents, Government Printing 

 Office, Washington, D. C, at 5 cents per copy 



WASIIINGTON : (;i>Vi;ilNM10,NT ruINTING OI'TH'IU : 1913 



