210 COTTON 



brother inventors may truly be said to have called forth a new- 

 world on both sides of the Atlantic, and to have founded towns 

 whose wealth and activity far eclipse the commerce of Carthage 

 or of Tyre. 



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 the 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, w^hich, 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 are 

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

 able for cotton south of the 36° of latitude, comprises more than 

 thirty-nine million 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 larg-e 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 suc- 

 cessive 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. Unfortunately the poor slaves 

 have but little time to enjoy the scene. They are then over- 

 loaded with 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 overripe cap- 

 sules shed their contents upon the ground, or allow the wind to 

 carry them away. We can easily imagine, even if we had not | 

 been taught by " Uncle Tom," how actively the driver plies his j 

 whip at harvest time. 



The collected produce is immediately carried to the steam- 1 



