CHAPTER XIII. 

 COTTON. 



COTTON is now so largely used for ropes and twines that it 

 must be regarded as a cordage fibre. The cotton fibre is the 

 hair which grows around the seeds of the various species of 

 the cotton plant. The longest fibred cotton is only about 2 in. 

 in length, and the shortest about i in. When placed under the 

 microscope the fibres look like narrow ribbons having a small 

 spiral twist. It is the natural twist of the fibre that increases 

 the value of the fibre for spinning purposes, since the fibres 

 interlock the one with the other and produce a stronger and 

 more elastic thread than fibre of similar length which is perfectly 

 straight in its formation. 



Cotton is grown in America, India, Egypt, &c. In culti- 

 vating the fibre, the first step to be taken is the preparation of 

 the ground for planting. In the southern part of Texas this 

 begins as early as the middle of January ; in Florida about 

 the third week in January ; in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, 

 and Louisiana about the beginning of February ; and in South 

 Carolina about the beginning of February to the beginning of 

 March. According to latitude, actual planting begins from 

 the middle of March to the middle of April, and ends in the 

 first half of May. Picking usually begins about the beginning 

 of August. The plant goes on fruiting as long as the weather 

 is mild, and does not close in the late districts till the middle 

 of January. In India, picking begins and ends almost three 

 months later. 



Cotton is plucked from the plant in the form of bolls of 



