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 [Sidenote: _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: [Sidenote: _The Full Grades_] _Fair_ _Middling Fair_ _Good Middling_ _Middling_ _Low Middling_ _Good Ordinary_ _Ordinary_ _Low Ordinary_ [Sidenote: _Tinges and Stains_] [Sidenote: “_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 [1] U. S. Government differences. [2] Average of differences on New York, New Orleans, Memphis and either the Savannah or the Augusta exchanges. [Sidenote: _The Human Element_] [Sidenote: _Proportion of Impurities_]