COTTON 



145 



Some of it is imported into the United States for use in 

 making goods where a long staple is required. In length, 

 the staple of Egyptian is between that of American long- 

 staple and Sea Island cotton. Egyptian and Indian 

 cottons are not nearly so productive in America as are 

 the varieties generally grown in the Southern states. 



The cotton plant. Cotton belongs to the Mallow family, 

 which includes not only all kinds of cotton, but also okra, 

 hollyhocks, and a number of common weeds and flowers. 



The several kinds of cotton differ greatly in their 

 stalks, leaves, blooms, and lint. In tropical countries, cotton 

 is a tree-like plant, not dying in winter. In the southern 

 part of Texas cotton plants springing from 

 roots that live over winter are troublesome 

 because they give food to the cotton-boll 

 weevil early in the spring. 



Why cotton makes strong thread and 

 cloth. Cotton is popular for making 

 thread, cloth, and rope, in spite of the 

 fact that a single fiber of the common 

 kind is generally not over one inch long. 

 This is because a cotton fiber is a twisted, 

 hollow tube (Fig. 94). The twist makes 

 the separate cotton fibers cling tightly to FlG . 94 ._ FlBERS OR 



each Other, just as two chains would do if STRANDS OF COTTON, 



twisted together. The fibers are so small 



that 1 200 to 1500 of them could be laid side by side in the 



space of one inch. 



The kinds of cotton in the United States. There are 

 only three main kinds of cotton grown in the United 



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