The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1916-09-28
HAVE YOUR COTTON NGINNEDI
SAYS u. S. EXPERT.

|
talking with local buyers and
farmers about the marketing OF
cotton. This is one of the few
sections where cotton is still sold
in the seed. Mr.. Creswell says
that the practice of selling cot
ton in the seed is responsible for
serious losses to producers IN
many sections has been demon
strated by Investigations by mar
keting specialists of the depart
ment. 1t is impossible, it is said,
To determine accurately before |
ginning the quality of cotton and
the per centage OF lint, seed, and |
trash which it contains. In con
sequence, buyers of cotton seed |
base their prices on the average |
character OF the cotton of the
community, and the farmer who
produces better cotton than the
average often obtains no reward.
As a matter of fact, even the pro-
ducers of average cotton suffer,
for the buyer allows himself a
wide margin of safety III making
his quotations and purchases.
These facts are brought out in
a number of tables just publish
ed in Department bulletin No.
80, Disadvantages of selling
Cotton in the Seed. This prac-
tiee, while not as common as it
once was, is still prevalent in GER
tam sections, particularly IN those
regions IN which cotton is a COM
paratlvely new crop or ia which
the production is comparatively
scanty. For example, it is estimat-
ed that 80 per cent of Missouri S
small crop was sold IN the seed
IN 1915 and only two per cent of
South Carolina S. The actual
number of bales sold in this way
however, was greatest in Okla
hOma, and for this reason the In
vestigation, the results of which
are To be found in the bulletin
already mentioned, was conduct
ed in that State.
La the course of that investiga-
ton a large number of samples of
seed cotton were collected from
loads sold by different farmers
and the price of each load ascer-
tanned. These samples were GIN
ned and the relative proportion
of lint, seed, and trash determin-
ed. 1t was then possible to COM
pare the returns which the farm
ers recS5ed for their cotton
with what they would have OBJ
tanned had they sold their lint
and seed separately at the pre-
vailing prices.
The samples showed a wide |
variation in the outturn of lint, |
seed, and trash. The variation,
however, was rarely taken into |
account by the buyers who, IN |
the same market, ON the same day |
often offered the same price for |
all unginned cotton, irrespective |
of its quality. Such discrimina-
ton as was exercised was against
the producer-that is, lower
price might be offered for cotton
that was obviously below the aver
age, but good cotton brought no
more than the market rate.
The rate was in the majority of
cases much below what the seed
and lint would have brought had
they been sold separately. Com
parsons published in detail in
the new bulletin show that this
loss ranged from an average OF
S1.75 per bale for low mlddilng
to am average of $3.50 per bale
for good middling. The total loss
on $50 bales of the white grades
sampled by the investigators was
-, 1920, or an average OF S4.63.
In these calculations, it should be
said, proper allowance was made
for the cost of ginning In some
instances, it is true, the farmer
gained by selling his cotton IN
the seed, but these were far too
few TO alter the general result.
There is, moreover, another dis
Advantage inherent III the practice.
Not only does the farmer usually I
lose in the marketing of any one /
crop, but he is seriously hindered 1
In improving his cotton from year !
to year because there is no incen- 1
tive TO do so. As the buyer of |,
seed cotton plays little or no at II
tention to grade and staple the
producer is forced to think chief
ly of the yield per acre. Moreov-
er, it is difficult, if not imposslblel
for the grower to obtain his own
seed from the ginner for planting ,
and he is, therefore, unable to
maintain a pure variety. In the
majority of markets about the on-j :