| 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 |
FOOTNOTES:
[1] U. S. Government differences.
[2] Average of differences on New York, New Orleans, Memphis and either the
Savannah or the Augusta exchanges.
The Human Element
Proportion of Impurities