28 
Samples from 58 bales collected at Okemah from sales made in 
October and November were stapled and it was found that 13 bales 
were of ^f-inch, 37 bales of 1-inch, 2 bales of lyVinch, 5 bales of 
l^Vinch, and 1 bale of l^Vinch cotton. It will be noted that in the 
case of each of these three towns there are more bales of 1-inch cotton 
than of any other length, and that in the aggregate the number of 
bales falling below 1 inch is greater than the number in which the 
cotton exceeds that length. 
For comparison with these figures the lengths of staple observed 
in three towns in the western part of the State are of interest. Forty- 
one bales sampled in Snyder during October and November com- 
prised 15 bales of f-inch, 23 bales of ^f-inch, and 3 bales of 1-inch 
cotton. The 77 bales sampled at Erick during the same period con- 
tained 3 bales of ^f-inch, 19 bales of J-inch, 19 bales of if-inch, 35 
bales of 1-inch, and 1 bale of l^-inch cotton. In 51 bales marketed 
at Mangum during the month of November there were found to be 
2 bales of ^f-inch, 9 bales of J-inch, 25 bales of ^f-inch, 11 bales of 
1-inch, and 4 bales of l^Vinch cotton. 
It will be seen that in the western part of the State there are more 
bales of ^f-inch than of any other length and that there were almost 
exactly as many bales above as below this length. 
This fact might be emphasized by the preparation of elaborate 
tables, but it is sufficient for the purpose of this discussion to state 
that the samples from over 3,000 bales collected from every part of 
the State were stapled, with the general result that the regions in 
the eastern part of the State which have a reputation for good staple 
were found to have an actual average advantage of about tV inch. 
Outside of the small district previously mentioned, lying near the 
Red River, in the southeastern part of the State, it may be said in 
general that there are no two important cotton-producing regions in 
the State between which an average difference of more than -J inch 
in length of staple occurs and it is probably safe to say that there are 
no two compresses in the State the cotton from which will show an 
average difference of much over -fa of an inch throughout the season. 
SELLING COTTON IN THE SEED. 
The sale of unginned cotton directly to ginners, who are usually 
closely allied with the oil-mill interests, is still an important factor 
in the marketing of the Oklahoma cotton crop. In the pioneer 
stage of cotton production in this area this custom was much more 
prevalent than it is at present, and under certain conditions there 
is much to recommend it. When cotton is grown experimentally 
or on small areas in communities which can not furnish an adequate 
picking force, it is often a difficult matter for a farmer to accumulate 
enough seed cotton to make a 500-pound bale, and the picking of 
