14 BULLETIN 1184, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
staple can be materially decreased if adequate supervision is given 
to Held segregation. 
BETTER METHODS OF GINNING. 
Another important step in producing cotton that will be satis- 
factory to the manufacturers is to improve the method of ginning, 
an operation to which too much attention can not be given. Much 
of the Pima cotton now reaching the eastern markets shows con- 
clusively that it has not been properly ginned. One manufacturer 
who uses this variety said, " The ginning appears to be carelessly 
done, and there seems to be evidence all along the line of an utter 
lack of appreciation of what the requirements are in long-staple 
cotton, which by its length and fineness is naturally suitable for 
fine yarns." The writer examined several lots, 50 samples each, of 
Pima, a high percentage of which showed the rough, ropy type, 
which is unsuitable for the manufacture of fine, sheer goods. In 
Plate VIII it will be noted that half of the sample is smooth, while 
the other half is very ropy and stringy. This sample was drawn 
half from each side of the same bale. It is rather difficult to illus- 
trate these undesirable characteristics by photographs, so samples 
have been mailed to the growers for their examination. 
What mill men call " curl," " flock," and " cut seed " in cotton 
may be seen in Plate IX. A manufacturer who is an extensive 
user of Pima cotton submitted this sample to this department and 
stated that these faults in cotton of this classification make it prac- 
tically valueless for the purposes to which it might be put if smooth 
and clean. 
It is not definitely known at just what point in the ginning or 
handling processes the cotton receives the treatment that causes 
this rough, ropy character, but the following suggestions as to the 
possible cause have been given by persons who have had much 
experience in handling and manufacturing cotton: 
It may have been ginned wet or green. 
After ginning it may have been placed where it absorbed moisture and then 
was compressed when damp. 
It might have absorbed moisture after compression. 
Cotton from two different plantations or sections may have been run to- 
gether, or two entirely different grades may have followed each other at the gin. 
Cotton grown under adverse conditions may have been mixed with that 
grown under favorable conditions. 
Very often in ginning there is too much friction between the rolls and the 
knives, and this generates considerable heat. To correct or overcome this a 
light application of water is made, and while the rolls are in this moist 
condition the lint delivered has this wadded, rough, ropy appearance. 
The last part of the lint often comes in driblets instead of in one continuous 
sheet ; these driblets or small sheets of lint show as separate pieces, and if 
they are damp they are likely to retain a rough, lumpy appearance after 
pressing. 
In a report on the handling and marketing of American Egyptian 
cotton in 1914 J. G. Martin (5, p. 3) found numerous reasons for 
the poor condition of some cotton. He states: 
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 considerable distance from the gins, and the expense 
