326 THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



417. American Upland Cotton. (Gossypinm hirsutum L.). 

 This species is native of the American tropics. The plant is 



a perennial but is cultivated as 

 an annual. It is characterized 

 by the species having in addi- 

 tion to the pearly white lint 

 one-half to one and a half 

 inches long a dense covering 

 of short lint varying in color 

 from whitish or brownish to 

 greenish. This is the chief 

 kind of cotton raised in Amer- 

 ica and hence in the world. 



418. India Cotton (G. her- 

 baceum L.). This species is 

 native of southern Asia, and 

 according to some writers 

 synonymous with the former. 

 The plants differ from Amer- 

 ican upland cotton in their 

 more slender, less woody stems 

 with leaves having rounded 



American upland cotton . , . , 



(From photo by Dewey) instead of sharp-pointed lobes, 



and in the smaller and more 



spherical bolls. The lint of some varieties is glossy white, of 

 others dull, of some yellow, and still others golden brown. It 

 is generally coarser and shorter than American upland cotton, 

 ranging from one-half to an inch in length. It is cultivated 

 in southern Asia. 



419. Sea Island Cotton (G. barbadense L.). This species 

 was found in the West Indies when Columbus first visited those 

 islands. The plant differs from upland cotton in its larger 

 growth, three to eight fe'et high, with longer and more flexible 

 branches, more deeply lobed leaves, bright yellow instead of 



