THE COTTON PLANT. 189 



industry ; and, thanks to the inventive genius of our Arkwrights 

 and Cromptons, a vegetable fibre furnished by a plant totally 

 unknown to our forefathers, now ranks as the first of all the 

 world-wide importations of England. 



There are many different species of the cotton-plant, herba- 

 ceous, shrubby, and arboreal. Their original birthplace is the 

 tropical zone, where they are found growing wild in all parts of 

 the world ; but the herbaceous species still thrive under a mean 

 temperature of from 60'' to 64° F., and are capable of being- 

 cultivated with advantage as far as 40° or even 46° N. lat. 

 The five-lobed leaves have a dark green colour, the flowers 

 are yellow with a purple centre, and produce a pod about 

 the size of a walnut, which, when ripe, bursts and exhibits 

 to view the fleecy cotton in which the seeds are securely em- 

 bedded. 



It is almost superfluous to mention that the United States is 

 the first cotton-producing country in the world. The area suit- 

 able for cotton south of the thirty-sixth degree of latitude, com- 

 prises more than 39,000,000 acres, of which less than one-sixth 

 part is now devoted to the plant. The yield depends in part 

 upon the length of the season. Seven months are required for an 

 average crop, and the average periods in which the last killing 

 frost of spring and the first killing frost of autumn occur are 

 March 23, and October 26. Cotton is cultivated in large fields, 

 and when the soil is superior, the plant rises to a height of six 

 or eight feet, although in the richest cane-brake soil, exhausted 

 by successive crops, it dwindles down to a height of three or four 

 feet only. The aspect of a cotton field is most pleasing in the au- 

 tumn, when the dark-coloured foliage and bright yellow flowers, 

 intermingling with the snow-white down of the pods when 

 burst, produce a charming contrast. At that time all hands are 

 at work, for it is important to pluck as much as possible during 

 the first hours of morning, since the heat of the sun injures the 

 colour of the cotton, and the over-ripe capsules shed their con- 

 tents upon the ground, or allow the wind to carry them away. 



The collected produce is immediately carried to the steam- 

 mill to be cleansed of the seeds, and then closely packed in bales, 

 which in the seaports are further reduced by hydraulic presses 

 to half of their previous volume, thus causing a great saving 

 in the freight. Large clii3pers frequently carry eight or ten 



