FIBER PLANTS 179 



seed meal is thought to injure the flavor of the butter, 

 but with moderate feeding no such result is noticed, 

 the only effect being to make the butter stand up 

 and handle better in the warm Southern climate. 



Cotton-seed oil is applied to many uses. Com- 

 bined with tallow it is largely used in adulterating 

 lard; it may also be used in the pure state as a sub- 

 stitute for lard in cooking, and much of it when re- 

 fined is converted into salad oil. 



Botanical Features: Varieties. — The many kinds 

 of cotton grown in the United States may all be 

 grouped under two species: the upland cottons all 

 belonging to Gossypiiim hirsutum^ and the Sea Island 

 cotton to G-ossypium Barhadense. 



The seeds of the upland cotton are densely clothed, 

 underneath the fiber, with a coating of short greenish 

 hairs, and the flowers are white or light cream color 

 wdien they first open, turning pinkish as they wither. 



The Sea Island cotton has smooth, black seeds 

 and the freshly opened flowers are bright yellow. 



The perennial, so-called tree cotton of tropical 

 America belongs to a species closely related to the 

 Sea Island cotton. It is frequently seen planted 

 about dwellings, but is of no commercial importance. 



There are many varieties of upland cotton in cul- 

 tivation. These can be placed in two principal 

 groups : the cluster cottons and the long-limbed, big- 

 boiled cottons. Varieties of the first class are usu- 

 ally earlier in maturing and are the only ones 

 planted in the more northerly part of the cotton belt. 

 The big-boiled cottons do best, as a rule, on the 

 moister, richer lands. 



