14 
BULLETIN 1445, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
possible, samples from bales of cotton from each section of the 
Cotton Belt are used in making up each box. 
These types are sold by the Department of Agriculture at the 
uniform rate of $5 per box for domestic shipment. As they are 
too expensive for each farmer to buy, some means should be pro- 
vided whereby cotton growers can become familiar with the stand- 
ards so that they can translate the widely published price quotations 
into terms of value for their own cotton. 
The standards for staple length are 1-bale types. Comparisons 
are made by taking a part of the official sample and testing it 
against the cotton the staple of which is in question. 
COTTON CLASSING 
Classification of a commodity means the rating of it according 
to given standards. Cotton is classed by rating a 6 to 8 ounce 
sample, half of which is drawn from each side of the bale. If there 
Fig. 6. — Practical form of the official cotton standard for length of staple 1% inches 
and a typical " pull " of fibers from the cotton. Each package contains a sample 
of cotton of the length of staple indicated. They are sold at the rate of $1 each 
f. o. b. Washington. 
is a considerable difference between the two parts of the sample, 
the bale is classed according to the sample from the low side. 
Cotton grown by any given farmer may fall into several different 
classes, whereas the spinner obtains best results when his cotton is 
nearly of one class. The object of classing, therefore, is to take 
the cotton as it comes from the farms and put the bales of like 
grade, staple, color, and character into separate lots, so the farmer 
can sell his cotton on its merits and the spinner can find exactly 
what he requires with the least amount of expense and effort. Class- 
ing also makes possible the sale of cotton on description, thus reduc- 
ing the costs of handling; it eliminates risk and enables the buyer 
and the seller to bargain on a narrower basis; and it adds to the 
value of cotton as collateral. 
The bale is inspected to see that it has no special defects which 
would not be detected in sampling and classing it. If the bale has 
a serious defect, it is declared unmerchantable. The bale is sampled 
