§ 28.40 - Terms defined; cotton classification.

§ 28.40 Terms defined; cotton classification.

For the purposes of classification of any cotton or of its comparison with a type or other samples, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, to mean:

(a) Fire-damaged cotton. In those cases where it is certain that the cotton is fire damaged, the classification record shall be marked Code 97 (Fire-Damaged Upland Cotton saw ginned) and no official color grade assigned to the sample.

(b) Micronaire (mike) reading. The measurement of the fiber fineness and maturity, in combination, of cotton as determined by an airflow instrument. For any cotton that has a micronaire reading of 2.6 or lower, the Classing Office will enter the micronaire reading on all classification memoranda issued for such cotton.

(c) Extraneous matter. Extraneous matter is any substance appearing in a cotton sample that is not discernible in the official cotton standards. Such material may consist of rough preparation, sand, dust, oil, grass, whole seeds, parts of seeds, motes, spindle twist, bark, stems, cloth and plastic.

(d) Re-ginned cotton. Cotton that, after having been ginned and baled, has been subjected to a ginning process and then re-baled. Responsibility for identifying cotton, which has been actually re-ginned, rests with the owner of the cotton or the owner's agent.

(e) Repacked cotton. Cotton that is composed of factors', brokers', or other samples, or of loose or miscellaneous lots collected and rebaled, or cotton in a bale which is composed of cotton from two or more smaller bales or parts of bales that are combined after the cotton leaves the gin.

(f) False packed cotton. Cotton in a bale

(1) containing substances entirely foreign to cotton;

(2) containing damaged cotton in the interior with or without any indication of such damage upon the exterior;

(3) composed of good cotton upon the exterior and decidedly inferior cotton in the interior, in such manner as not to be detected by customary examination; or

(4) containing pickings or linters worked into the bale.

(g) Mixed-packed cotton. Cotton in a bale which, in the sample taken therefrom, shows a difference of two or more color grades, and/or a difference of two or more color groups, or grade of the other side that is one color grade and one color group higher between the two portions of the sample. White, Light Spotted, Spotted, Tinged, and Yellow Stained shall each constitute a color group. The classification assigned will be that of the portion showing the lower color grade. The classification record for the bale will contain a code 75, to designate mixed quality.

(h) Water-damaged cotton. Cotton in a bale that has been penetrated by water during the baling process, causing damage to the fiber, or a bale that through exposure to the weather or by other means, while apparently dry on the exterior, has been damaged by water in the interior. If such condition can be ascertained, the classification record shall be marked Code 98 (Water-Damaged Upland Cotton saw ginned) and no official color grade will be assigned.

[22 FR 10933, Dec. 28, 1957, as amended at 26 FR 5945, July 1, 1961; 32 FR 7011, May 9, 1967; 52 FR 30882, Aug. 18, 1987; 81 FR 7029, Feb. 10, 2016]