20 THE COTTON PLANT. 



The boll is filled with young seeds, surrounded 

 by a white pulp-like substance. As the boll ma- 

 tures, the pulp disappears, and the cavity becomes 

 wholly crowded with the densely packed silky 

 hairs, which have grown from the thick coats of 

 the seeds. The pressure of these soft hairs as 

 they expand, finally overcomes the resistance of 

 the seed vessel ; the valves part 

 (Fig. 3), and the beautiful white 

 cotton, spreading as it comes in 

 contact with the air, hangs out 

 in snowy "locks" several inches 

 long. 



The sooner it is picked, now, 

 FIG. 3. BOLL OF COTTON the better. Exposure to the 

 weather darkens and weakens 

 the fibre. Picking begins in the middle of August, 

 and does not end until the last of September. " The 

 picking is performed," writes Mr. George Emerson, 

 " by male and female hands provided with Osna- 

 burgh bags, hung over the neck and shoulders, 

 into which the cotton is put as fast as picked. 

 These, when full, are emptied into large Osnaburgh 

 sheets, placed at convenient spots ; the sheets are 

 carried home in the afternoon. One hand can pick 

 about one hundred pounds per day of seed cotton." 



