FIBER CROPS 



COTTON 



Uses and History 



478. Lint. The cotton plant is in many respects the most 

 important upon the globe. It furnishes the clothing of the 

 larger portion of the inhabitants of the world. It is subject 

 to more extended and varied use under the widest conditions 

 of climate and civilization of any other fiber. It is the most 

 important article of trade. It employs more capital and labor 

 than any other single manufacturing industry. 



The usual method of utilizing cotton is first to spin the lint 

 into threads technically known as yarn. The fineness of the 

 yarn is measured by the number of "counts" to the pound of 

 lint cotton. A count is a "hank" of 840 yards of yarn. Thus 

 sea island cotton usually produces yarn ranging from 120 to 

 320 counts per pound. In other words, one pound of sea island 

 lint cotton produces from 120 to 300 hanks of 840 yards each. 1 

 Short staple upland yarn is woven into all sorts of fabrics, is 

 used for mixing with wool, silk and flax, knit into hosiery or 

 made into cordage of various sizes and descriptions. Long 

 staple upland cotton is utilized largely for making sewing threads 

 and fine lawns, while the finer threads for sewing and for laces 

 and the finest cotton fabrics are made from sea island cotton. 



1 It is said that a pound of sea island cotton has produced as high as 2,000 

 counts. 



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