COTTON MARKET CONDITIONS IN NORTH CAROLINA. - 5 
large, modern custom gins, while the majority of the gins in the 
Piedmont section are well equipped. 
There is less incentive in the Coastal Plain section to improve the 
character of the cotton produced since neither the length of staple of 
individual bales nor the average length of staple produced in a com- 
munity seems to have any weight in determining the price paid for 
certain bales or the relative standing of the town as a cotton market. 
This is not true of the Piedmont section, as it appears that the 
length of staple of each bale and the average length of staple pro- 
duced in a community are factors in determining both the prices 
of individual bales and the relatively higher prices paid at certain 
markets. 
PRODUCTION COMPARED WITH CONSUMPTION OF COTTON IN 
NORTH CAROLINA. 
A matter worthy of serious consideration by buyers and consumers 
as well as producers of cotton in North Carolina is that, notwith- 
standing the fact that the mills of the State consume more cotton 
than is produced in it, production does not meet the peculiar needs 
of consumption from a standpoint of length of staple. (See Table 
II.) A survey of the mills of the State made by the Division of Mar- 
kets of the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station shows 
that more than three-fifths of the cotton consumed in North Carolina 
is produced outside of the State. 
TABLE II.—Comparison of lengths of staple of cotton produced and consumed in 
North Carolina during the 1914-15 season. 
Length of staple in inches. 
Less z 15 1,45 or 
than 3. 8 16 1 longer. 
——————— | 
| $$ $f ff ee" 
5 Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. 
“SI RCOKG DLO =) 6 A Re Eh sl a lr A Ne a 28,000 | 400,000 | 160,000 | 152,000 56, 000 
Consumed eee ee encenc mgoborhoe dedodhogbaosoune 27,000 | 300,000 | 180,000 | 234,000 144, 000 
Overproduction 3 cas ates etree) tae c/ce ee ES OOO Be L00. O00 ls =. eee nn || eee AS 
WindeEproduUchione ey ery eee adoro he eae bee ae oe ir ek 20, 000 82, 000 88, 000 
Tt will be observed from a study of Table II that while there is 
more cotton of seven-eighths of an inch and less in length of staple 
raised than is consumed or manufactured in the State, the reverse 
is true of cotton having a length of staple of 1 inch or more. This 
condition can be remedied if producers will give reasonable con- 
sideration to the length of staple when selecting varieties for plant- 
ing. Producers will be encouraged to grow cotton of a better staple 
1 Cook, O. F. The Relation of Cotton Buying to Cotton Growing. U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Bulletin No. 60. 
