PART II 



RAW MATERIALS AND THE PRODUCE OF 



MINES 



CHAPTER XIII 

 FIBRES 



COTTON. The cotton plant belongs to the genus Oossypium 

 of the Order Malvaceae. There are several varieties, both 

 wild and cultivated, growing in different parts of the world. 1 

 One of the most valuable is a variety of the Oossypium 

 Barbadense, known as Sea Island Cotton. 



The plant if left to itself grows to a height of from six to 

 twelve feet, sometimes shooting straight up and bearing its 

 flowers at the top of its stem, as hollyhocks do, and sometimes 

 sending out many branches sideways, which in their turn bear 

 flowers and send out other branches, so that the final shape of 

 the plant is that of a pyramid. This pyramidal plant does not 

 grow so tall as the simpler kind (four feet is the usual height), 

 and, for this and other reasons, is considered to be the most 

 desirable form to cultivate. 



The leaves are large and either three- or five-lobed. The 

 flowers occur singly in between the stem and the base of 

 the leaf -stalk. They resemble those of the hollyhock and 

 mallow, having five overlapping petals which are usually 

 sulphur yellow in colour with a blotch of purple at the base. 



The small calyx is completely hidden by three large tooth- 

 edged bracts which are at first dark-green, but afterwards 

 change to brown. The stamens are very numerous, and are 

 joined together to form a tube, which is joined on to the base 

 of the petals. The tube is dotted all over with slender filaments 



1 Between 40 N. and 30 S. of the Equator. 

 2203 T 



