38 



PACKING AND MAEKETING OF COTTON. 



The foregoing grades constitute what is known as white cotton. 

 Following are the " tinged " and " stained " grades, the basis being 

 middling, 12 cents per pound, as in the former table: 



Grades. 



Points 

 on (+) or 

 ofl(-). 



Increase (+) 



or de- 

 crease (— ) 

 in value of 



bale. 



Strict good middling tinged 



Good middling tinged (same as middling). 



Strict middling tinged 



Middling tinged 



Strict low middling tinged 



Low middling tinged 



Middling stained 



+ 43 



+t2.15 



- .75 



- 1.60 



- 4.00 



- 6.00 



- 4.60 



Under the rules of the New York Cotton Exchange delivery of 

 cotton purchased for future delivery may be made at seller's op- 

 tion on three days' notice to buyer. Delivery of any grade may 

 be made from good ordinary (white) to fair, inclusive ; and if tinged, 

 not below low middling tinged; if stained, not below niiddling 

 stained. The price is for middling with additions or reductions for 

 other grades according to the rates existing on the afternoon of the 

 day previous to the date of notice of delivery. Liverpool classifica- 

 tion for middling and all grades above is about one-fourth grade 

 lower than New York classification, and for grades below middling 

 one- fourth to one-half grade higher than New York. 



GOVEENMENT TYPES. 



The nine types selected by the Department of AgriculturCj begin- 

 ning with the highest, are : Fair, strict good middling, good middling, 

 strict middling, middling (basis) , strict low middling, low middling, 

 strict good ordinary, and good ordinary. These types were estab- 

 lished by a committee of experts in accordance with the act of Con- 

 gress providing for the work, and, as explained in another part of 

 this report, are generally accepted by those actively engaged in the 

 buying and selling of cotton. They are not intended to determine 

 length, strength, and fineness of staple, but to determine color and 

 cleanliness of the cotton. They have special value in making com- 

 parisons to decide types, and are used much in the same manner as 

 samples of fabrics are employed in "matching." Objection is made 

 that while these Government types have value in determining the 

 general quality of cotton grown in the section from which the stand- 

 ard types were taken, they can not be used with accuracy in classify- 

 ing cotton grown in other sections. 



The concision in standards of various markets is shown in the 

 following statement from a North Carolina merchant which, it 

 should be mentioned, was made before the Government types were 

 selected : 



Cotton from different sections represents different values. For Instance, 

 middling cotton from Mississippi Is given preference over middling cotton from 

 Georgia, and middling cotton from Georgia will bring a higher price than mid- 

 dling cotton from North Carolina. That Is owing not only to a difference in 

 staple but in the general character of the rotton — what we call the " body " 

 of tJie cotton. * * • The Mississippi cotton, for Instance, has the heaviest 



