UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Contribution from the Office of Markets and Rural 
Crganization, 
CHARLES J. BRAND, Chief. 
Washington, D. C. Vv March 31, 1917 
HANDLING AND MARKETING DURANGO COTTON 
IN THE IMPERIAL VALLEY. 
By J. G. MARTIN, Investigator in Cotton Marketing, and G. C. WHITE, Specialist 
in Transportation. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. Page. 
PGROGICHION Soweto (Oc ee. 25 Soe oie Ae eS COnagOmacilities sc. ecco aaace Seca e cee 9 
Necessity for clean picking.................- Pata Pests he 0 6) Ua tenes Msp Spe dea NE Mea Ue ean eae il 
CarexomseemiCOtlomeeaat ae not se ec oe 4 | Classing Durango cotton..................-- 12 
Ginning Durango cotton.................... 5 | Length and character of Durango staple...-. 13 
Necessity for good baling and adequate cover- Marketing of Durango cotton..............-- 14 
LT) Cope ae epat reaps series MMR oeG io tes | Aa. 6 | Transportation facilities and rates..........-. 17 
Tagging, marking, branding, and weighing. 8 
INTRODUCTION. 
In the fall of 1915, the Office of Markets and Rural Organization 
of the Department of Agriculture, through cooperation with the 
_ Imperial Valley Long-Staple Cotton Growers’ Association, rendered 
_ investigational assistance to the growers of Durango long-staple 
cotton in the Imperia! Valley of southern California in the handling, 
classing, and marketing of their product.t. The investigations were 
begun about the first of October, the beginning of the cotton-pick- 
ing season in that section, so that besides the actual investigations 
an excellent opportunity was afforded not only to examine the condi- 
tion of the Durango cotton in the fields (see fig. 1), but to inspect 
the methods of picking, handling, and storing the seed cotton on 
the farms, to study the methods of hauling the cotton to the gins, 
its subsequent ginning and baling, and its handling and storage in 
the. yards. The specific investigations made included the manner 
1 Martin, J. G. The Handling and Marketing of the Arizona-Egyptian Cotton of the Salt 
River Valley, U. S. Dept. Agr., Bul. 311, 1915. 
NotH.—This bulletin should be of interest to farmers of the Imperial Valley and others 
located in sections where staple cotton is grown, and ta cotton buyers generally . 
61187°—Bull. 458—17 it 
