COTTON 



1605 



COTTON 



Peruvian cotton, known commercially as 

 "Rough Peruvian," is reddish in color, and its 

 fiber is rough and hairy, like that of wool. 

 It is mixed with wool in making cloth and 

 hats, and is also used in the manufacture of 

 underwear and stockings. The United States 

 imports about 30,000 bales of this variety each 

 year. 



Upland cotton comprises about two-thirds of 

 the world's supply. It is the best-known of 

 all varieties, and the cheapest, and as an eco- 

 nomic factor is of supreme importance. Its 

 fibers are short, not usually exceeding .93 of 

 an inch; the stalk grows to a height of three 

 or four feet. As this variety is the typical 

 product of the "land of cotton," it is the one 

 described in the following paragraphs. 



In a Cotton Field of the South. At cotton- 

 picking time the fields present a bright array 

 of green and white, and from a distance the 

 stalks look as if they were crowned with snow- 

 balls. These little balls of white are the 



Cntr of Cotton Production. 

 Upland CoKon Area. 

 EK-23 Sea Island Cotton Area. 



COTTON-PRODUCING AREA 



precious store of the fruiting pod, or boll, and 

 the fruit of the planter's labor that began 

 months before. Late in the winter or early 

 in the spring the cotton planter starts the 

 plows to work in order to make the soil soft, 

 fine and mellow. Then the ground is laid off 

 in rows three to four feet in width, and made 

 ready for the sowing. 



Usually the seeds are dropped into a long, 

 straight furrow made with a small plow. On 

 the large plantations an improved cotton 

 planter is used. This opens the furrow and 

 sows and covers the seed, and as it is drawn 

 by a mule or horse, like a plow, it requires 

 the services of only one man, who can plant 

 about eight acres a day. The date on which the 

 preparation of the soil begins varies from 

 January 15 in Southern Texas to March 5 

 in the Carolinas; sowing usually begins from 

 March 10 to April 15 and lasts until the middle 

 of May. 



About ten days or two weeks after the seeds 

 are planted the little shoots push their way 

 out of the soil. These must be carefully culti- 

 vated, for cotton will not grow well if it is 

 too crowded, or if weeds are allowed to in- 

 trude. Therefore the stalks are frequently 

 hoed, and they are thinned out until they 

 stand about a foot apart in the rows, with one 

 stalk to a hill. Soon the plants put forth 

 green leaves that look very much like those 

 of the maple tree. Little buds, too, make 

 their appearance, which, from their peculiar 

 shape, are known as squares. 



When the plant is perhaps a foot high, the 

 squares open and disclose beautiful white blos- 

 soms, which turn to a delicate shade of pink 

 on the second morning, because of the effects 

 of the sun's rays. The third day they grow 

 still rosier in color, and usually fall to the 

 gfound before night, leaving behind on the 

 stalk a tiny green boll. Sometimes, when cul- 

 tivation is neglected or weather conditions are 

 unfavorable, the blossoms carry the bolls with 

 them when they fall, and with them, too, are 

 carried the hopes of the planter. 



At the end of six or eight weeks the bolls are 

 about the size of a hen's egg, and then, as if 

 bursting with pride at their store of rich, white 

 lint, they crack open, splitting into three parts 

 and announcing that picking time is at hand. 



This period lasts many weeks, because not 

 all the plants ripen at the same time, and the 

 pickers therefore make several rounds of the 

 fields. Far to the South, the picking begins 

 in July; it starts a little latej farther North, 

 and in the Carolinas is not completed until 

 nearly Christmas. The white fleece pulled from 

 the bolls is gathered into baskets or bags 



IMMATURE COTTON BOLLS 



which hang from the shoulders of the workers, 

 and later is loaded on huge wagons to be 

 carried to the establishment where it is made 

 ready for the manufacturer. 

 Cotton picking is still done almost entirely 



