4. Grades and Staples

Grades Based on Condition

The classification of cotton into the standard grades fixed by the Government constitutes an exceedingly difficult art. There is absolutely no mechanical basis, and the classification is a purely relative one. The kind of plant has no bearing whatsoever, nor has the length or strength of staple. It is really a distinction based upon the condition of the cotton, rather than upon its inherent attributes.

The grade “MIDDLING” is the basis upon which the market values of the other grades are quoted. There are eight full grades:

The Full Grades

Fair	Low Middling
Middling Fair	Good Ordinary
Good Middling	Ordinary
Middling	Low Ordinary

Tinges and Stains

“Points”

Between these full grades are the half grades, known as the Stricts, and some classers use quarter grades with which, however, we shall not concern ourselves here. The grades and half-grades are quoted for whites, tinges, and stains. A stain is a heavy discoloration while a tinge is a lighter hue, and partial discolorations, known as spots, are permissible in the lower grades of whites. The values of the various grades are always quoted as so many points on or off White Middling, a point being ¹/₁₀₀th. of a cent. Thus, if Middling White were quoted at 24c and Ordinary as 300 points off, it would mean that Ordinary was worth 21c. An example is given below of a regular quotation sheet.

U. S. Grades	[1]White	[2]Tinges	[2]Stains
Middling Fair	403 on	Nominal	Nominal
Strict Good Middling	328 on	49 off a	Nominal
Good Middling	253 on	152 off a	447 off a
Strict Middling	135 on	300 off a	618 off a
Middling	Basis	456 off a	809 off a
St. Low Middling	305 off	704 off a	Nominal
Low Middling	843 off	1064 off a	Nominal
Strict Good Ordinary	1230 off	Nominal	Nominal
Good Ordinary	1518 off	Nominal	Nominal