The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-11-12

Of ear, and so on.
 Every exhibitor owes 1t to the seri- ous portion of the rural visitors at . fair to label every article, giving the true or original name of the variety. Otherwise a notably excellent article for example, a certain lot of corn. may teach no lesson of profit to the in- Quirtng visitor, for however he may desire to grow type like that dis played, he has no means of knowing the name of what he desires.
 find a note book indispensable when passing through agricultural ex- hibits and believe that most farmers will find this a useful companion, for here may be written addresses of par ties who can supply stock or seed or implements, of breeds or varieties or patterns which seem best suited to the need of each visitor.
 Certainly Alabama is to be congrat- ulated that a most satisfactory agri- cultural display has been brought to- .gether at the fair held in Montgomery and that number of other fairs are being held, reports from which indi- cate wide interest in these useful ex- hibitions This is but the beginning, but it is hopeful augury of the agri- cultural development that the next few years must bring.
 House the Um@0Ad Cotton.
 Reports from every section of the cotton belt indicate q steady falling off in receipts and a growing and persis- tent determination on the part of those growers, who are able to finance their cotton, to hold it off the market until prices advance to higher figures. The sentiment is rapidly growing in the minds of the people that the present crop will not be but little, if any, larger than the crop of 1905. and that ten cents as 8 rock bottom price is certainly low enough at which to offer cotton of middling grade at interior points. The fight is now beginning in earnest and if every man will Loyalty line up with his neighbors the fight will soon be whipped. There is so much distress cotton going on the market at the preesnt time and so much was sold by leading farmers and merchants last spring and summer for future delivery this fall at from ten to eleven cents, that the rush of all this cotton on the market in the near fu- ture may tend to prevent any quick advance in prices. Those who are now making up their minds to hold their cotton for better prices and are deter mined to do so, may have to walt for few weeks to get their price. In the meantime the cotton held must be safe guarded from the destructive inf1u-
 
 any man to hold his cotton, if the sta- pie is to be baled and then thrown out fin the weather without any pro- tection from rain, winds and sunshine. A bale of cotton left lying on the wet ground will injure the staple rapidly and soon cause a considerable portion of the fibre to be unfit for marketing or spinning purposes. Cotton exposed to weather Is many times seriously in- jured when 1t cannot be deeected by the naked eye. but the expert grader orA buyer and the spinner quickly de- tects 1t and levies 8 heavy burden on the carelessness of the grower who Is go negligent. If cotton is worth hold ing, it is also worth taking care of, and the very best of care at that
 The cotton growers of the South lose millions of dollars annually in what ia known among the cotton trade as country damage;" that is cotton brought to market which has been ex- posed to the weather and the staple thereby seriously injured for spinnins purposes. There is no fibre known which possesses greater absorptive powers than lint cotton. When once bale of cotton begins to absorb mois- ture, either from coming in contact with the damp ground or from rain, the process continues to the centre of the bale. The absorption of water by lint cotton is rapid and in a very short time will cause the lint to rot.
 Picking Rotten Bales.
 Every season thousands of bales of cotton which have been exposed to the weather must be picked over by the buyers and the loss upon the sell CTS is a heavy item. There is hardly a warehouse in the South which can not show in the spring its quota of decayed lint picked from damaged bales that have been neglected on the farms through the past winter. Some farmers take better care of their sta- ble manure than they do of their val uable lint cotton. They will provide a shelter for the manure while they seem to have an Idea that a bale of cotton can lie out on the ground, un- protected six months without injury.
 Now, this is unpardonable in any man and shows want of thrift and an utter disregard of the ordinary ter or small warehouse can be pro- vided on the farm and the cotton stored in such way as to keep it sound and dry, as a matter of course 1t would be more economical to store the cotton at home and save ware house expenses. But if there is no place on the farm where the staple can be properly cared for, then by all means take the cotton from the gin house to the warehouse where 1t can be stored, insured and properly held until ready for sale.
 Storing Cotton.
 With very little expense, where the material can be had, either lumber or corrugated iron, good storage facilities can be provided on the farm. But in those communities where cooperative or public warehouse facilities are pro- vided and rates reasonable, 1t would be best to patronize the warehouse A great many farmers who want to hold their cotton will need money to meet maturing obligations or to make cer- tain Investments and with the cotton properly stored in a good warehouse and insured, the receipts can be used with the local banks as collateral to secure loans until. the cotton is sold. This system of borrowing money on cotton in storage is getting quite common in many sections and the banks generally are glad to make the loans. Of course each individual must be guided largely by his conditions, but no great portion of the crop can be held without being to certain ex- tent financed and we believe the mod ern warehouse is the best and most economic system through which to bring about a slow movement of the
 Al