DURANGO COTTON IN THE IMPERIAL VALLEY, deal 
vided the bales are on dunnage and are rolled over after a rain so 
they may dry out on all sides. Of course, sheds would prevent a 
certain amount of loss in weight by protecting the cotton from the 
sun. For its weight and size a bale of cotton is the most valuable 
farm product grown in the valley, and therefore is entitled to as 
much care as any of the other crops produced. 
SAMPLING. 
The method of sampling the Durango cotton is similar to that fol- 
lowed throughout the South where staple cotton is bought and sold; 
that is, the bagging on the bale is cut open on one side in a crescent 
shape about 18 inches long, usually between the second and third 
Fic. 5.—Cotton properly protected from country damage by dunnage. 
band, and the flap thus made in the bagging is laid back. The first 
layer of cotton, which is generally dirty or discolored by the bagging, 
is pulled off and discarded. In order to obtain a representative sam- 
ple it is necessary to secure the cotton from deeper in the bale and to 
draw it out in even and smooth layers. This procedure is repeated | 
on the opposite side of the bale, after which one of the coupons is torn 
from the tag on the bale and placed between the two samples just 
drawn. : 
More skill in sampling is required than one not familiar with the 
cotton trade would suppose, and, therefore, it is important to both 
buyer and seller that the samples be pulled carefully and be repre- 
sentative of the bale from which they are taken. In drawing a 
