16 BULLETIN 1445, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
the sale or transaction. If the buyer thinks that the cotton is not 
as good as represented, he may reject it or he may ask for money 
adjustments. The seller may pay all or a part of the reclamation 
demanded, or he may demand arbitration. The arbitrated cotton 
must again be sampled and classed unless both agree to have the 
arbitration on samples already drawn. 
Merchants, shippers, and dealers buy and sell among themselves, 
and to the extent that this is done, it multiplies the number of times 
cotton is sampled and classed. When cotton is exported, it is 
sampled by the importer on arrival at destination. If the importer 
is a merchant, he in turn makes up sample types of his different 
lots of cotton for the use of his customers. 
The large amount of sampling and classing of cotton is generally 
thought of as a great source of waste and expense. It is justified 
on the ground that it is less wasteful than attempting to sell un- 
classed cotton. Many schemes have been advocated for making one 
sampling suffice, but none so far has been able to accomplish the 
desired results. Some of the Southern States attempted to prevent 
excessive sampling by passing laws requiring that the bales be 
sampled at the gin before the covering is put on. It was found, 
however, that under the prevailing circumstances the enforcement 
of the law merely served to add one more to the number drawn 
because the purchaser refused to buy on a sample he did not draw. 
Neither the samples nor the pickings are wasted for they are baled. 
They constitute a big share of the so-called " city crop." 
The Federal Government is endeavoring to devise a plan to make 
sampling and classing unnecessary each time a bale is sold. In 
the administration of the cotton futures act it is possible to class 
cotton at New York or New Orleans and buy and sell it without 
classing it each time, especially if it remains in the same ware- 
house, or if moved from one warehouse to another under Govern- 
ment supervision. Cotton which has been officially classed in New 
Orleans has been moved to New York under the supervision of the 
Government and delivered on contract without reclassification. 
The cotton standards act passed March 4, 1923, makes possible a 
much broader application of such a practice. 
COTTON CLASSING AND THE FARMER 
Farmers are interested in cotton classing as a source of bargain- 
ing power in marketing and as an aid in improving the quality of 
their product. Farmers can not be efficient salesmen in disposing 
of their cotton until they know its class. They have depended too 
much on competition among buyers to make a fair price. American 
cotton growers compete in the world markets and can succeed best 
by growing a superior product and knowing the qualities of their 
product. 
The United States Department of Agriculture undertook a few 
years ago to teach cotton farmers the significance of class as a market 
factor and how to improve the class of their cotton. As a result a 
great many farmers, and especially leaders, have learned the impor- 
tance of grade, staple, and character of cotton in determining its 
value. They have also learned that it is impractical for them as 
individuals to learn to class cotton to the degree required for efficient 
