Weather Defects
Even at that, however, the planter’s greatest worry is perhaps not so much the growth as the harvesting of his crop. To get his cotton picked rapidly and properly, an operation for which no successful machinery has yet been devised, and to have it properly ginned, presents his chief problem. If cotton is left too long on the stem it will be exposed to the detrimental effects of the weather. Coloring matter from the newly opened bolls, or from the soil, is washed into the floss by the rain, and while such spots or stains may be bleached out by the sun, the lustrous bloom never returns. Frost will make permanent tinges or stains, and the wind will frequently wrap the pendulous locks of fibre-covered seed about the stems of the plant or tangle them up in the leaves.
Careless Picking
Bad Ginning
When the pickers do not exercise proper care stem and leaves frequently get picked along with cotton, and a considerable quantity of dirt inevitably finds its way into their bags. Or else the cotton may be picked when it is damp, with the result that the teeth of the gin, instead of picking out the seeds and stems will cut the matted fibres, producing a class of cotton known as “Gin-cut”. Moreover the gin brushes will be unable to separate the matted tufts, and so they go into the bale as “naps” or “neps”. All these factors militate against the planter in his efforts to have his crop classified as high as possible.
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