442 FIELD CROPS 



The King type is early in maturing, is short-limbed, and 

 produces small bolls. The big-boll type grows larger and 

 ranker, the bolls are larger, and the crop is later in maturing. 

 Long-staple cotton produces uniformly longer and more valu- 

 able lint than the ordinary upland varieties. The small- 

 boiled cottons pick easily but are readilj^ damaged by storms, 

 as the outer covering of the boll, the "burr," is thin and curls 

 backward as the boll opens, exposing the seed cotton and 

 giving it Uttle support. On the other hand, the burr of the 

 big-boll tj^pe remains flat and supports the seed cotton so 

 that it is not easily dislodged. Among the better known 

 varieties of the small-boll type are the Welborn, Peterkin, 

 and King, while the big-boll, or storm-proof, type includes 

 Russell, Truitt, Texas Storm-proof, and Jones Improved. 

 The best known of the long-staple varieties are Allen, Griffin, 

 and Cook, 



IMPORTANCE OF THE CROP 



606. Importance of the Crop. Cotton is not only the 

 most important textile plant of the world, but it is one of the 

 most important of the world's crops, for it furnishes man>' 

 valuable products in addition to the lint from which cotton 

 fabrics are made. The world's production of cotton is about 

 21,000,000 bales or about 10,000,000,000 pounds of lint 

 annually. The average annual production for the five years 

 from 1906 to 1910 was 21,462,500 bales, of which nearly 

 three fifths was produced in North America, more than three 

 tenths in Asia, and about one fourteenth in Africa. Prac- 

 tically the entire crop of North America was produced in 

 the United States, the average annual production for the 

 five years being 11,847,270 bales. India ranks next to the 

 United States in the production of cotton, with a crop of 

 3,778,320 bales; Egypt follows with 1,381,345 bales; and 

 China with 1,200,000 bales. No other country is an impor- 

 tant factor in the production of cotton. 



