COTTOX PRICES AND MARKETS 21 
is most desired by the dealer and spinner. An offer subject to con- 
firmation must have the shipper's approval before the deal can be 
closed. The spinner buyer may also make firm offers and offers 
subject to confirmation. 
LOCATION OF COTTON TRADED IX 
Stocks of cotton in strictly spinners' markets are small. They 
consist either of even-running lots desired by mills of that center 
or of mill rejections. The merchants who have large enough stocks 
to permit scattering them rather widely carry most of such stocks. 
If the spinners" market is also a concentration market, as may hap- 
pen in the South, or an import market like Liverpool, Bremen, or 
Havre, the stocks may be large ; but this concentration is for another 
purpose than convenience in selling to spinners. What the spinner 
wants is a wide range in the selection of the cotton suited to his 
needs. He thus chooses representative dealers in the markets where 
cotton that fulfills his requirements may be found. 
Whatever developments there may be in the use of standards will 
doubtless facilitate buying on description, and this in turn should 
give individual spinners access to more cotton through an increase of 
competition among sellers and a probable slight reduction in sellers' 
costs. 
The use of staple standards has increased rapidly in recent times, 
but there are certain reasons why private types are still preferred 
by some. The most important is the fact that the element of char- 
acter has not been standardized. It is possible to buy on Govern- 
ment standards for grade and staple, and then attempt to give a 
verbal description of character, but these descriptions are not wholly 
free from the possibility of misunderstandings. To avoid such mis- 
understandings the trade has bought and sold in terms of types. 
Evidently further development of standards is needed which will 
take character into account. This would widen the spinner's range 
of selection. There has been some lack of understanding on the 
part of mills as to how to adapt the present grade standards to their 
uses. Should a mill desire a narrower range in grade than the 
Government box of type samples shows, it may buy according to the 
box with the objectional bales eliminated by number, or it may 
specify any sample or number of samples as a type. The samples 
are numbered, beginning in the upper left-hand corner and proceed- 
ing to the right. 
WHEN HELLS BUY 
Xo statistics are available which gauge the volume of spinners' pur- 
chases. Two sets of figures are ordinarily used in America for this 
purpose. Those known as " mill takings *' are a fair index of the 
volume of cotton moving to mill centers, but are not necessarily an 
index of mill purchases. The mill may buy the cotton several weeks 
before it. was shipped, or the mill may receive the cotton and make 
it up before the price is fixed. It is not uncommon for spinners to 
buy their cotton on a basis " as early as 12 months in advance. 
Table 13 shows the monthly percentage of mill takings. 
