The book, "Studies in Quality in Cotton," was published by W. Lawrence Balls in 1928 as a summary of a ten-year research project carried out first in Egypt and then at the Rothamsted Experimental Station and Lancaster in England. The initial project mission was the translation of cotton-spinning technology into terms that would enable cotton breeders and growers to provide cotton with those qualities that improved processing success. Later, Balls added the objective of constructing a fiber property-based "Prediction Formula" by which the cotton grower could anticipate the results of a spinning test. This review compares the methodology and results summarized by Balls in 1928 with data obtained through modern fiber-quality measurement techniques. Like the 1928 report of Balls, the current review places particular emphasis on those results that provide predictive insights into the relationships between fiber properties and yarn strength.