HANDLING AND MARKETING OF ARIZONA-EGYPTIAN COTTON. 3 
As a whole, the picking in the Salt River Valley was very fair, as 
will be seen by Tables I, II, and III, which show a good average 
grade. Table II shows that by careful and clean picking the greater 
portion of the crop can be made to grade Choice and above. It will 
be noted that there were only 72 bales of Medium and 274 bales of 
Standard out of the crop of 1,237 bales ginned at Mesa. 
STORAGE OF SEED COTTON. 
The storage capacity for seed cotton at the gins was inadequate 
during both seasons, and as there were no seed-cotton houses on the 
farms, the cotton in a great many instances had to be piled in a corner 
of the field, on the ground, until enough could be accumulated to 
make up a wagonload. The majority of the farmers live at a con- 
siderable distance from the gins, and the expense of hauling only a 
fraction of a wagonload is prohibitive. At the same time, the cotton 
left on the ground was subject to damage by exposure to heat, heavy 
dews, and rains. Seed cotton, loaded in wagons, was left standing 
in the fields, in barnyards, and at the gins. The cotton neglected in 
this manner was subject to damage by exposure, as it absorbed a 
certain amount of moisture and was ginned damp. Damp or wet 
cotton does not gin smoothly, but produces a curly and matted 
condition of the fiber, which lowers its grade and value. Unfortu- 
nately, the result was very marked in this case. In January, after 
a period of rainy weather which lasted several days, some of the 
cotton was so wet when ginned that the friction of the rollers against 
the knife-edge heated the cotton greatly, thus subjecting it to undue 
damage. The curly condition due to the ginning of wet cotton was 
very noticeable after each rain. 
GINNING THE ARIZONA-EGYPTIAN COTTON. 
The first half of the crop ginned in 1913 contained a great many 
crushed seed in the cotton; in fact, during the first part of the season 
all of the roller-gin stands at Mesa and Chandler were crushing the 
seed. It was found that the amount of crushed seed was greater at 
the ends of the rollers, where at times whole seeds would work around 
the end. Crevices were found in the rollers between the walrus-hide 
strips, where the seed would catch and be conveyed to the knife-edges. 
Here they would be crushed between the knife and the roller, passing 
into the lint. This defect in the gins was discovered and remedied. 
The ginner at Chandler discovered that the rollers were 2 inches 
too short for the frame of the gin. The rollers were extended to make 
them the proper length, thereby preventing further crushing of seed. 
With this fault corrected and the walrus-hide covering on the rollers 
made smooth and free from crevices, the gins worked with satisfactory 
results. It was also found that on dry and well-handled seed cotton 
the gins did excellent work. 
