32 BULLETIN 1444, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
on the other. The card gives a complete account of the transaction. 
To complete the record of sale it is necessary for the seller to sign 
the buyer's card, and the buyer, that of the seller. 20 
PEKSONNEL 
The membership of the exchanges dealing in futures is made up 
of persons scattered throughout the world. Less than one-third of 
the members actively participate in the business on the floor of the 
exchange. All members do not transact the same type of business. 
Some firms confine themselves to orders originating in the conduct 
of their own business. Other individuals and firms do a brokerage 
business entirely. Other persons and firms handle business both for 
themselves and for their clients. Much of the actual trading around 
the ring is done by "floor brokers" and "floor traders" rather than 
by the men who really manage the business. 21 The successful 
execution of orders in a busy market requires skill, which these brok- 
ers acquire to a high degree. They are paid the commission charged 
members, and are responsible for all orders until they notify the 
member with whom they have traded who the principal is. 
MONTHS TRADED IN 
Contracts for the future delivery of cotton may be entered into 
for any month of the year but the months that are always active are 
October, December, January, March, May, and July. August and 
September are sometimes active, and the others are never. The 
near month is the next active month from date. The current month 
is the present month and is only of special significance when it is 
an active month. Trading in the current month must cease at noon 
on the last business day upon which transferable notices may be 
issued, which, under the present law, is five full business days be- 
fore the close of the month. By a rule recently adopted, trading 
on the New York Cotton Exchange in the current month on and 
after December, 1925, will be discontinued on the tenth day of 
that month. 
KINDS OF TBADES 
Members may buy and sell on their own account, or they may 
buy and sell for their clients. The transaction may be made (1) to 
hedge a spot cotton transaction or sale of goods, (2) as an arbitrage 
or straddle transaction, (3) to deliver or receive spot cotton, and 
(4) as speculation. All transactions must be by outcry across the 
ring if they are to be reported or recorded in the record of transac- 
tions. This does not mean that all orders received by a firm are 
executed across the ring. If a firm receives two orders simultan- 
ously, one to buy and the other to sell, it is the practice of some 
firms to give each the board price at the time. Trading or offering 
to trade in futures by members of the exchange except on business 
days and during the hours of business is prohibited. A member can 
not take his clients' orders to account. He can neither buy nor sell 
20 Rule 45 of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange. See also p. 33. 
21 Hubbard, William Hcstace, cotton and the cotton market, pp. 246-249. 
