What are the forces which put life into the "future" market? The world's trade is large, and every minute will find people, who, in the pursuance of legitimate interests, buy or sell. When both groups are fairly equal, the market is steady, while a decline or an advance is caused by a preponderance of one over the other; finally, this adjusts itself again, by the fact, that a rapid advance will produce sellers and vice versa. A further element in the market, is the "jobber", whose main object is to take advantage of the small fluctuation caused by chance, but we must not forget the big speculators. By these, we do not mean those despicable people who aim to snatch a profit, and who, on having to face a loss, plead the gaming act. Experience and force of circumstances have, luckily, driven these parasites almost out of the market. But we do mean those big operators, who having weighed carefully "the pros and cons" of the situation, cause the great "bull" or bear movements. TECHNICALITIES. For those who wish to obtain information concerning the cotton trade from this pamphlet, certain subjects are here elaborated, which were, so far, only indicated in connection with other explanations. Of first importance are the shipping documents, which consist of bills of lading and insurance certificates. There are three kinds of bills of lading: Port Bills of Lading, Custody Bills of Lading, and Through Bills of Lading. The first must be signed by the captain of the steamer, who has undertaken to carry the goods, or by a duly authorized shipping agent. They are, therefore, an absolute guarantee on the part of the ship, to deliver the goods to the holder of the bill of lading. Unfortunately, this obligation is frequently restricted by the insertion of certain inconspicuous clauses. The "custody bills of lading" are signed by a shipping agent, they acknowledge receipt of the goods, and promise the forwarding in due course. In order to obtain equal value with the "port bill of lading," they should, later on, be supplemented by a so-called "master's receipt", which is an acknowledgment by the captain, that he has actually accepted the goods for forwarding, in accordance with the conditions of the custody bill of lading. They are used when the goods have arrived at the port, previous to the ship. The "through or railway" bills of lading, oblige the railway companies to forward the goods from a place in the interior of America, to their destination. A master's receipt is not necessary, but desirable, as it is an easy means of ascertaining by which steamer the goods are coming forward. At one time, "through or railway bills of lading" were not a properly valid document, as the railway companies were not in duty bound to forward the goods. Now, however, a change in the American Law binds the companies to this duty.