Another duty imposed by this Act is the in vestigation and designation of bona-fido spot markets within the meaning of the Act. Thir teen cities have been named as such thus far, and ten of these are being used in establishing commercial differences for the settlement of future contracts, as required by the Act. By carefully prepared rules governing the making of price quotations, by frequent visits to the spot exchanges, and by telegraphic and mail reports from each exchange, it is undertaken to have the differences of the 10 designated markets accurately represent the true commer cial values of the various grades, the average of• which may be taken as a satisfactory basis for the settlement of future contracts.
Another important administrative duty under the Act is the settlement of disputes when they arise, as to• the length of staple, grade or quality of any cotton tendered in set tlement of a future contract, the Act requiring that future trading shall be on the basis of the official cotton standards. For the settlement of these disputes 12 expert cotton classers or "examiners)) have been designated to act in these disputes, and their conclusions as to the grade, length of staple or quality are the basis of the formal findings of the Secretary of Agri culture, which are prima facie evidence in the United States courts as to the true grade, length of staple or quality, and tenderability of any cotton covered thereby.
Unless we except the small production of the West Indies, the cot ton grown on the Sea Islands of South Caro lina is the finest and most valuable in the world. The plant is larger and of a more vigorous growth than the upland plant, is less subject to disease and shedding of forms and bolls, and withstands adverse weather much better. There are over 5,000 farms on these islands, cultivated mostly by negro labor, many of which are owned by ntgroes. The farms are small, and the cultivation of the cotton so ex pensive that few farmers plant more than 100 acres. In preparing the land for cultivation the old stalks and weeds are knocked down and burned. The land is rarely ever broken up broadcast, but early in February two furrows are run with a single-horse turning plow in the old alleys, making a trench seven or eight inches deep. The trench is fertilized with about 20 cart loads of marsh mud and 1,000 to 1,400 pounds of cotton seed to the acre; or stable manure with composts of marsh mud and rushes are applied. Recently commercial fertilizers have come in general use, especially among the negro farmers who do not like the care and labor of making composts. One of the best fertilizers used consists of 250 pounds of acid phosphate, 200 pounds of lcainit and 200 pounds of calcined marl per acre. After apply
ing the manure the land is listed by using a hoe and pulling the soil on to the manure from the sides and tops of the old beds, or by covering the manured trenches with two furrows of a turning plow. A heavy roller is then run over the ground and the beds are afterward built up by lapping in two more furrows on a side with either a single or double-horse turning plow. The land is now ready for planting which is usually done the first 10 days in April. The seed are planted by three hands; the first one using a hoe opens holes 12 to 18 inches apart in the top of the bed, and the second hand follows dropping 8 or 10 seed in each hole; the third hand following and covering the seed with a hoe. About a bushel of seed to the acre is used. The seed come up in 8 to 12 days, and from the second week in April to the first week in May the plants are thinned out to a stand. The crop receives two hoeings in May, the plows then break out the middles between the beds, and they are followed by hoe hands who draw up the loose soil around the young plants. Cultivation with the hoe goes on con tinually until the last of July, by which time with one plowing in July and one in August to keep down the grass between the .rows, the crop is laid by. The first blooms appear about the middle of June, and the bolls begin opening the latterpart of August when the plants are four or five feet high. Picking be gins from the last week in August to the sec ond week in September, and is completed by the middle of December. When the cotton has been picked it is sun-dried and run through a (whipper') machine to knock out the dust and sand. A roller gin is always used in ginning sea-island cotton, as the saw gin cuts up and tears the fibre. The average yield per acre is about 125 pounds. The cost of production is just about twice that of upland cotton, all the items of expense, except rent, being much higher. The crop is not only more expensively fertilized, but it is much more difficult to pie* owing to the smallness of the bolls and the tenacity with which the cotton adheres to the pods. In 1914 sea-island cotton was cultivated in two counties in South Carolina, 15 in Florida and 22 in Georgia. Climatic and soil conditions discourage its cultivation very far from the coast, as the fibre looses its lustrevstrengith and length, and to retain these characteristics the inland planters find it necessary to obtain fresh seed from the sea islands every two or three years. The largest crop ever produced was in 1905, when South Carolina made 13,714 bales, Florida 33,635 and Georgia 76,440; total 123,789. The average weight of bales is about 355 pounds in South Carolina, 375 in Florida and 407 in Georgia.