COTTON 117 



Exercise. — Examine the fibers of cotton from a cotton 

 boll or from a roll of cotton. Notice how minute they are 

 when seen separately. Try twisting a few of the fibers to- 

 gether to form a thread. Pull them along as you twist them 

 and they will gather up more fibers from the pile of cotton. 



The Cotton's Relatives. — The cotton plant belongs to 

 the same family of plants as the hollyhocks, okra, althea, 

 mallow weed, and many others. The group is called the 

 mallow family. 



Types of Cotton. — There are several different types or 

 kinds of cotton. Those grown in the United States are all 

 annual, that is, they are all killed by freezing in the fall ; but 

 in tropical countries they live for many years. Even here 

 the plants sprout up from the old root after a mild winter. 



Cotton grown in this country is chiefly of three kinds: 

 (1) Common or Short-staple upland cotton, (2) Long-staple up- 

 land cotton, and (3) Sea Island cotton (Fig. 59a). Important 

 kinds grown elsewhere are (1) India cotton, with very short 

 staple, (2) true Peruvian or Egyptian cotton, with long 

 staple, usually brownish in color. 



American Upland Cotton. — ^As shown above, the upland 

 cotton is of two kinds, short-staple and long-staple. Together 

 these make up all of the American cotton crop, except the 

 Sea Island cotton, grown in small amounts, chiefly near the 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts. 



Short-staple differs from loiig-staple cotton in length of 

 the lint which surrounds the seeds. Short-staple is from 

 % to 1)^ inches long (Fig. 61), and long-staple is usually 1% to 

 1% inches long. These varieties may also differ in other 

 ways. The long-staple plants are taller, later in maturing 

 and have slender, pointed bolls, with less lint. But the long- 

 staple sells for a higher price. 



Sea Island Cotton. — This gets its name from the fact 

 that it originated in the West India Islands. It grows well 

 on the islands and mainland within one hundred miles of 

 the coast. Georgia, South Carolina and Florida are increas- 



