A special session on identifying bacteria that can be isolated from cotton was presented at the 1991 Cotton Dust Research Conference. Participants were Drs. Janet J. Fischer, F‚icit‚ Tuxford, Bernadette Hoult and Caryl Heintz. The following is a summary of the main points of this presentation. A transcribed and edited typescript of the session is included in these Proceedings as a separate paper.