UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
f. BULLETIN No. 1135 J 
Washington, D« C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
May 19, 1923 
SPINNING TESTS OF COTTON COMPRESSED TO 
DIFFERENT DENSITIES. 
By William R. Meadows, Cotton Technologist, and William G. Blair, Specialist in 
Cotton Testing, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Purpose of tests l 
Kinds of bales 2 
Conditions of the tests 3 
Varieties of cotton tested 3 
Waste determinations 4 
Mechanical conditions 4 
Moisture conditions 4 
Breaking strength and sizing of yarns ... 4 
Irregularity of yarns 5 
Spinning tests of Cleveland Big Boll cotton of 
fifteen-sixteenths-inch staple 5 
Percentage of waste 5 
Moisture conditions 6 
Breaking strength of yarns 7 
Irregularity of yarns 7 
Manufacturing properties 8 
Summary of tests ^ 8 
Spinning tests of Rowden cotton of 1-inch 
staple 8 
Percentage of waste 8 
Moisture conditions 9 
Breaking strength of yarns 10 
Page. 
Spinning tests of Rowden cotton of 1-inch 
staple — Continued . 
Irregularity of yarns 11 
Manufacturing properties 12 
Summary of tests 12 
Spinning tests of Delta cotton of l§-inch 
staple 12 
Percentage of waste 12 
Moisture conditions 13 
Breaking strength of yarns 13 
Irregularity of yarns 14 
Manufacturing properties 15 
Summary of tests 15 
Spinning tests of Webber 49 cotton of 1 J-inch 
staple 15 
Percentage of waste 15 
Moisture conditions 16 
Breaking strength of yarns 17 
Irregularity of yarns 17 
Manufacturing properties 18 
Summary of tests 18 
Conclusions 18 
TN TIMES of prosperity, when transportation and storage facilities 
■*■ are taxed to the limit, the conservation and utilization of space 
in freight cars and terminal warehouses becomes of paramount 
importance. A considerable saving in space and freight charges 
would be possible if a more compact and, neater package were 
adopted for cotton. 
PURPOSE OF TESTS. 
Does compressing cotton to higher densities than 15 pounds per 
cubic foot injure the spinning value of the cotton ? This is a much 
discussed question among cotton growers, merchants, brokers, and 
manufacturers. The spinning tests herein described were conducted 
for the purpose of arriving at conclusions in regard to this question 
as definite as could be determined by tests covering a single season's 
growth. 1 
i These spinning tests were conducted under the general supervision of William R. Meadows, cotton 
technologist, and under the direction of William G. Blair, specialist in cotton testing, v ho was assisted by 
H. B Richardson, C E. Folk, and E. S. Cummings, assistants in cotton testing. The Cleveland Big 
Boll was spun at the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering, Raleigh, N. C.,and 
the other cottons were spun at the Clemson Agricultural College, Clemson College, S. C. 
23243°— 23— Bull. 1135 1 
