CHAPTER XIV 

 COTTON 



THE first introduction of cotton into the American 

 colonies was probably made in Jamestown, Virginia. By 

 1780 it had become one of the important products of South 

 Carolina. The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney 

 in 1793 led to an enormous increase in cotton production. 



Characteristics of the Plant. As grown in the United 

 States, the cotton plant is generally erect, somewhat 

 bushy, and usually from two to six feet tall. In its native 

 home, the tropics, it is a perennial, but in this country it 

 is an annual, being easily killed by frost. The longest 

 branches of the plant are usually near the base and in most 

 varieties the length of the limbs gradually decreases toward 

 the top of the main stem, giving to the plant a more or less 

 conical shape. Productiveness and earliness are indicated 

 largely by the arrangement of the branches. This is also 

 an important means of distinguishing the varieties. There 

 is wide variation in the size and shape of leaves and this 

 also aids in distinguishing the varieties. 



The cotton plant has a strong branching root that pene- 

 trates deep into the soil. However, the depth of penetra- 

 tion is modified greatly by the nature of the soil and sub- 

 soil in which the plant is grown. 



If cross-fertilization takes place it must be during the 

 short time that the flower is open. With some varieties 



the flowers open at sunrise, close late in the day and never 



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