120 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 



the presence of minute colored particles in the ('(Mitral core. 

 In the wild cotton these particles impart a red color and 

 when such cotton occurs among the cultivated species it is a 

 sign of reversion or of a very low grade. The cotton fiber is 

 covered with a sort of varnish known as cotton wax. This 

 substance prevejils the fiber from absorbing moisture and in 

 absorbent cotton is removed by chemical action. 



Cotton seed is planted in rows three to four feet apart and 

 appears above the ground in about ten days. When the plants 

 arc well established they are thinned or chopped out until 

 they are from one to two or more feel apart. The crop is 

 constantly cultivated until midsummer or until the bolls begin 

 to open, the aim for the first eighty days being to secure a 

 good healthy growth. After abundant fruiting has begun, 

 it is undesirable to have the growth proceed so rapidly. 'When 

 a sufficient number of bolls are open, picking commences and 

 lasts until the plants are killed by frost or until all the cotton 

 is picked. Cotton should be picked as fast as it ripens and 

 before it can be damaged by rain, wind, or dust. As a rule, 

 cotton fields are picked over three times, generally in Septem- 

 ber, October, and November. Picking is done by hand, the 

 cotton being placed in bags and these emptied into baskets or 

 on to sheets. Cotton-picking machines have been tried occa- 

 sionally, but up to the present none have been very successful. 

 Of all the cotton picked only one-third of the material by 

 weight is cotton fiber, the remaining two-thirds being seed. 



Although cotton is perennial in some climates it is usually 

 treated as an annual. A considerable quantity of cotton is 

 produced in the following countries : Australia, Brazil, China, 

 Egypt, India, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, South Sea Islands, 

 and Turkey. In this country the cotton states are Alabama, 

 Arkansas, Florida. Georgia, Louisiana. Missouri, Mississippi, 

 North Carolina, Oklahoma. South Carolina. Tennessee, and 

 Texas. There are also areas in Arizona, Kentucky, Nevada, 

 New Mexico, southern California, and Utah suitable for cotton 

 culture, oi- in which the culture has developed to a slight 

 extent. The cotton belt of the United Stales, on account of its 

 climate, soil, labor, capital, and transportation facilities, is 

 the most favorable place in the world for growing the crop. 



Cotton is probably used by more people and in more ways 

 than any other fiber. Tt has long been known in many coun- 

 tries, but its original habitat is not definitely determined. 

 It was probably in use in India long before the Christian era. 



