THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



grown in America, short staple upland cotton usually varies 

 from seven-eighths to one and one-fourth inches. When the 

 staple of upland cotton exceeds one and one-fourth inches, it 

 is classed as long staple upland cotton. Cotton of the latter 

 type ranges from one and one-fourth to one and five-eighths 

 inches, while sea island cotton ranges from one and one-half to 

 two and one-half inches, one and three-quarters to two inches 



Cotton fibers in longitudinal and cross section: AAA unripe fibers; BB half-ripe fibers 



CCC fully ripe fibers 



(After Evans) 



being the usual length. The production of long staple upland 

 and of sea island cotton is insignificant compared with that of 

 short staple upland. In view of the demand for Egyptian 

 cotton, the United States Bureau of Plant Industry believes 

 that planters should give more attention to the raising of long 

 staple upland cotton. 1 



The mean diameter of short staple cotton is about 0.0008 inch 

 and of sea island cotton about 0.0006 inch. The fiber is some- 

 what larger in the middle, ends abruptly where it is attached to 

 the seed and is tapering and pointed at its free end. In short 

 staple cotton there are about 140 million individual fibers to the 

 pound. It is stated that if a cotton fiber were magnified until it 

 was one inch in diameter it would be over 100 feet long, and that 



J U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1903, p. 121. 



