10 BULLETIN 458, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
remain very long either in the gin yard or in the warehouse yard, but 
during the unusual weather conditions that prevailed during the mar- 
keting season of 1914-15, when the demand for cotton was poor and 
prices were correspondingly low, and the grower was forced to carry 
over some of his crop until the fall of 1915, much of the cotton was 
“docked ” or penalized from 5 to 20 pounds per bale on account of 
country damage; that is, much rotten or damaged cotton was picked 
off each bale before the bale was sold. This loss was attributable 
directly to the practice of storing the bales on the bare ground at the 
gin and in the warehouse yard. Country damage occurs on the farms, 
in the gin yards, warehouse yards, and the compress yards or wherever 
the bales are left standing or lying on damp or wet ground. There 
was an unusual amount of rainfall during the season mentioned, 
but if the bales had been placed on dunnage there would have been 
no damage to the cotton. (See fig. 5.) Even though the ground may 
appear to be dry, there is always enough dampness from it to injure 
the fibers. 
There is a clause in the marine insurance policies that covers 
country damage, and this cost for insuring the shipper’s cotton 
against loss by country damage is charged back directly to the 
grower, inasmuch as the shipper calculates the cost of insurance and 
deducts it from the price to be paid to the cotton grower. 
Sheds are not absolutely necessary in the Imperial Valley, as 
the rainfall is not sufficient to do any great amount of damage pro- 
