2 BULLETIN 1445, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
of cotton, it is necessary to perform certain services: (1) Prepara- 
tion, (2) standardization, (3) classing, (4) assembling and distribut- 
ing, (5) warehousing, (6) inspection and regulatory work, (7) 
financing, and (8) furnishing information. 
PREPARING COTTON FOR MARKETING CHANNELS 
The farmer considers that his cotton is grown or produced when it 
is picked and on his wagon ready to move to the gin, for he is able 
then to count it a bale; but the only fact that has been definitely 
established is the number of pounds of seed cotton. The gin is such 
an important factor in determining the quantity of lint, its grade, 
and the length of staple that the cotton may be said not to be com- 
plete as a commodity until it has been ginned and baled. 
GINNING, BALING, AND WRAPPING 
GINNING 
Ginning is designed (1) to separate the lint from the cottonseed, 
(2) to do a reasonable amount of cleaning by removing dirt, burs, 
and other heavier trash, and (3) to condense the lint into a bat or 
layer of cotton to facilitate baling and manufacturing. 
For each bale the grower delivers about 1,500 pounds of seed cotton 
to the gin. It is removed from the wagon by a suction pipe which 
delivers it to the distributer, which in turn carries it to the gin 
stands. Or it is delivered on the floor of the gin room, where it is 
delivered by another pipe to the distributer. From 30 minutes to an 
hour later about 478 pounds of lint cotton is delivered to the owner 
and as much seed as was in the seed cotton, or approximately 1,000 
pounds. In most cases where the farmer does not take the seed home 
for planting or feed, it is bought by the gin and sold to a cotton- 
seed-oil mill. The gin operator occasionally buys the bale of lint 
cotton, and in some instances the operator buys the seed cotton as a 
regular business. At the close of the season it is customary through- 
out most of the Cotton Belt for the gins to buy the remnants of seed 
cotton from the farmers. 
Figure 1 shows several wagon loads of seed cotton waiting their 
turn at the gin, and Figure 2 shows cotton after ginning and baling. 
Efficiency and value of the ginning are determined by the con- 
dition of the cotton delivered by the grower, the kind and condition 
of the machinery, and the way it is operated. Upland cotton, which 
includes more than 90 per cent of the American crop, is ginned 
in saw gins. If cotton is wet, trashy, or dirty when it reaches the 
gin, the saws have a tendency to clog and are likely to turn out 
ne PPy> gin-cut cotton. These* qualities lower the grade and value 
of the bale. 
Gin machinery is constantly being improved, but not infrequently 
it is operated long after it has ceased to work efficiently. 2 
Even a gin in good condition with good cotton to work on may 
not give satisfactory results if it is not properly adjusted and oper- 
ated. Unfortunately the interests of a custom ginner and of the 
2 For technical description of ginning and gin machinery, see TJ. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' 
Bui. No. 764. 
