The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-10-28

DuIlQlnS IS not 50 great as might 1T
first be considered. l will give some
figures on the cost of a building of the
kind named and of such a size as will
meet the wants of the average farmer,
or say building that will easily hold
30 bales of square cotton. Specifications
of frame building upon which the sheet
iron is to be fastened. Dimensions, 15x
Is feet, by u feet front, and feet rear.
These dimensions will give sufficient
space for holding thirty bales of cotton,
and the four feet fall from front to
rear will be enough to carry the water
off the room; ] 500 feet of framing and
plank viii frame the building. floor it,
and leave enough plank to strip the
sides and end and roof, placing the
plank 10 inches apart to fasten the iron
sheeting to. Cost for the lumber about
$14.00 The cost of enough corrugated
roofing to cover the building will amount
to $500 The cost of steel shceting for
the sides, front and rear will amount to
$500 all delivered. Cost of labor for
building should not be over 900, making
total cost of $4,000. These specifications
provided for sleepers 2xS placed 70
inches apart to support the flooring and
strong and durable. If such a building
were called UP for four feet on the in
side it would make fine room for stor-
ing Wheat or threshed oats. me ware
house rs here specified should be erected
at least 50 feet from any other building,
which would render it as near fire
proof as any warehouse can be con-
structed. In such building the rate
OF insurance on cotton stored would be
about So 40 on the hundred for twelve
months. or at present prices for cotton,
about cents per bale per month. Short
time insurance would of course be lit
tie higher, but not more than 10 cents
per bale per month. This is cheaper than
the rate usually charged for storing in
the public warehouses, and there would,
OF course, be no charge TO pay for stor-
age. If cotton so stored was sold in
bulk when prices suited, it would be
best to deliver the cotton at station.
have weighed and sampled there and
shipped without passing it in one door
of a public warehouse and out at the
other, paying from so cents to IS cents
per bale for the privilege.
EFFECT OF COUNTRY DAMAGE.
The losses annually sustained by the
producers on account of country damage
is enormous, What cotton there is being
held on the farms can generally be found
lying out on the open ground without
any shelter whatever to protect the
staple from the deteriorating effect of
rain sunshine. wind and rot. Very often
the bales are left lying fiat on the
ground. and after two months of such
exposure the value of the staple, by rCa-
son of the damage which follows such
methods is oftentimcs reduced fully two
cents per pound. III recently looked over
a statement issued by prominent spin
ner showing the deductions. on an aver
age, which American cotton had to suf-
fer. The discounts. included the tare,
country damage. and other fixed charges,
amounted to 40 pounds per bale The
item of country damage was one of the
heaviest. This clearly indicates that
when the farmer sells a bale of cotton
weighing 500 pounds that he receives pay
for only 451 pounds of cotton. The AZ
pounds are contributed to make up the
average losses charged UP to him for the
deductions of tare of bagging and ties,
warehouses, insurance. transportation.
commissions for buying, and country
damage and compress fees The present
discounts now against US on account of
country damage could be easily elimi-
mated if the farmers would exercise more
care in providing better facilities for
sheltering and protecting their cotton
from the weather. Under existing con-
dftions, the men who take good care Of
cotton are so largely in the minority
that they have to share in the losses or
average discounts charged up to those
who are Indifferent and careless. | know
Of no subject which should receive more
widespread attention by the producers
than that of providing better facilities
for protecting their staple from the ter
rible effects of moisture, rain and sun
shine A visit to any of the large city
warehouses late in the season when cot
ton is being shipped from the farms,
where it has been held, will convince
any man that the average planter seems
to care very little about the future
value of his staple. The bales often
times have to be repicked, and heavy
losses for damage and reduction in
weight must fall upon the shoulders Of
the producers who failed to provide suf-
ficient protection for the cotton on the
farm Our cotton should be held and
sold SLOWLY. but in the meantime we
must build storage houses for It ana
protect it at the minimum cost for hold
ing.