CHAPTER XLVI 

 COTTON 



491. The most important product of the cotton plant 

 is the fiber. Wool and silk are the animal fibers used in 

 spinning threads for soft fabrics. Cotton, flax, hemp, and 

 jute are vegetable fibers used in textile manufactures. 

 The coarser fibers, largely used in cordage and bag 

 manufacture, are hemp, jute, sisal, and some thirty others 

 of minor importance. It should be noted that cotton is 

 the most important fiber in the world, and that it is most 

 largely grown in the United States. The manufacture of 

 cotton alone gives employment to more people than any 

 other single industry. 



Fig. 211. A cotton field on prairie land showing uniform, fruitful, stalks and burrs 

 with storm-proof qualities. Grown from pedigreed seed. 



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