22 BULLETIN 216, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
In comparing the cost of the corrugated iron warehouses in 
Georgia and Oklahoma, it is well to remember that most of the build- 
ings in Georgia have wooden floors with costl brick foundations, 
while most of those in Oklahoma have dirt floors, which are very 
much cheaper and carry a lower insurance rate. It is also true that 
many of the houses in Oklahoma have been erected expressly for the 
storage of cotton, while some of the houses in Georgia are used both 
for cotton and other products, which general use is responsible for a 
higher rate of insurance. 
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 
BENEFITS TOBE DERIVED FROM A SYSTEM OF WAREHOUSES. 
It would be impossible to enumerate all of the benefits, direct and 
indirect, that might be derived from the inauguration of an ample 
aid efficient system of storage houses, but it is evident that such a 
system would be of great assistance in handling and financing the 
cotton crop. It would benefit not only the farmer but the merchant, 
the local banker, and other busmess men. A storage system prop- 
erly operated and used would eventually free the cotton farmer from 
the present destructive credit system. It would improve conditions 
in the cotton market. Much ‘‘country damage” and loss from unnec- 
essary sampling would be prevented, and much of the duplication in 
handling and marketing cotton under the present complex system 
would be eliminated. Such a system would enable the farmer to 
distribute the sales of cotton throughout the year, and in this way 
avoid depressed prices. Under present conditions the farmer rushes 
his cotton to market as fast as it can be picked and ginned, and thus 
‘‘bears”’ his own market. 
DIFFICULTIES UNDER PRESENT CONDITIONS. 
There are many disadvantages connected with the storage business 
as conducted at present, and there are serious difficulties that must 
be overcome before an adequate system can be inaugurated. The 
present facilities are poorly distributed and frequently not available 
to the farmer. The service rendered by many of the companies is 
poor, and their charges, including insurance, are unusually high owing 
to the small amount of cotton ordinarily stored by the farmer. His 
business is undesirable, for it is much more trouble to handle cotton in 
small lots. The cotton mills do not encourage the farmer to store his 
cotton, as their usual practice is to make a general allowance for tare 
and damage. This average is charged against all cotton, whether it - 
reaches the mill in good or bad condition, so there is little incentive 
for the farmer and trade in general to go to any trouble or extra ex- 
pense in protecting the staple. The farmer, therefore, receives prac- 
tically no benefit from the system now in operation, and it is not at all 
