COTTON 



227 



woolen fibers vary from about an inch to eight or nine 

 inches in length. The long fibers are woven into fine 

 woolen cloths, while the short, coarse ones make some 

 kinds of worsted goods. These fibers are covered with 



little projecting 

 scales, which cause 

 them to cling to- 

 gether, and this 

 gives the cloth its 

 characteristic woolly 

 or felted appearance 

 and produces a po- 

 rous fabric which, as 

 we have seen before, 

 holds air and retains 

 heat. 



Cotton. Our 

 Southern states in 

 the past produced 

 most of the cotton 

 used, but to-day cot- 

 ton is grown in many 

 other warm countries, especially in Egypt. The cotton 

 fiber is really a product of the flower, for as the seeds are 

 formed in the pod, this fiber grows around them as a pro- 

 tection, and consequently the seeds must be removed,. 



Plant bearing cotton ready to pick, showing the boll 

 or fruit containing seeds surrounded by cotton 

 fibers. (Museum of Natural History.) 



