2 BULLETIN 457, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
and marketed in the various sections of the South. Seventy-three 
towns in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, for the most part 
sections growing cotton of short staple, were covered by this survey. 
Every effort was made to discover the facts as they existed in the vari- 
ous marketing centers, as a basis for improvement, since little improve- 
ment is possible without a full understanding of the exact conditions 
under which cotton is marketed. Special attention was given to 
grade, to see if (and to what extent) cotton was purchased accord- 
ing to the accepted standards and differences existing at that time 
or whether it was bought on a daily average price. Special effort 
was made to determine whether staple was a factor in pricing the 
farmer’s cotton or whether cotton was sold without regard to varia- 
tions in length of staple. .Comparisons were made between prices 
paid for cotton of the same grade and staple on the same day in 
different markets. In the course of the investigation 38,000 repre- 
sentative samples were secured from 73 markets in 9 different States. 
METHOD OF INVESTIGATION. 
Men who were experienced in the cotton business were appointed 
in the various markets covered by thissurvey. They were instructed 
to begin sampling as soon as cotton began to move freely and to 
send in 50 samples each week. Information as to the date of sale, 
name of seller, and price received accompanied each sample. These 
samples were carefully wrapped, placed in a mail bag, and shipped 
to Washington. The grading and stapling was done by cotton ex- 
perts connected with the Office of Markets and Rural Organization. 
The same experts handled the entire lot of samples, thus securing 
a certain uniformity in the classmg. When the classing was finished, 
the results were compiled and entered in the files of the Office of 
Markets and Rural Organization. 
AVERAGE PRICES OF COTTON BY MONTHS FOR THE STATES COVERED 
IN THE SURVEY. 
In order to compare prices paid for cotton throughout the Cotton 
Belt, the average price for each grade was obtamed by months for 
each State. This was done by taking all of the samples from the 
grades Strict Good Ordinary, Low Middling, Strict Low Middling, 
Middling, Strict Middling, Good Middling, and Strict Good Middling, 
as practically all of the crop fell within these grades. By making this 
selection for each State, it is safe to assume that the figures fawly 
represent the average for the season. 
