VARIETIES 207 



regained its position of 1860. To-day the manufacture of cotton in 

 the United States is by far the greatest industry related to American 

 agriculture. 



Classification. The cotton plant belongs to the genus 

 Gossypium, a member of the Mallow family. The number of its 

 botanical species is variously stated as from four to eighty-eight. 

 However, all authorities agree that the cotton of commerce is the 

 product of only a few species. Parlatore names seven species, as 

 follows : 



1. Gossypium Barladense, the long-stapled Barbadoes, Sea 

 Island, Egyptian, and Peruvian varieties. 



2. Gossypium herbaceum, the varieties of India, Siam, China, 

 and Italy. 



3. Gossypium hirsutum, the American upland varieties. 



4. Gossypium arboreum, found in Ceylon, Arabia, South 

 America, etc. 



5. Gossypium Peruvianum, .the native varieties of Peru and 

 Brazil. 



6. Gossypium Taliitense, found chiefly in Tahiti and the Society 

 Islands. 



7. Gossypium Sandwichense, found in the Sandwich and ad- 

 jacent islands. 



Species Grown in the United States. In the United States 

 G. hirsutum and G. Barbadense, embracing, respectively, the upland 

 and Sea Island varieties, are the only species cultivated com- 

 mercially. 



Upland Cotton. Although it is probable that American upland 

 cotton is derived from the blending of several species, the present 

 predominating type resembles more closely G. hirsutum than any 

 other species. Hence, G. hirsutum, a native species of Mexico, is 

 commonly thought to include both the short-staple and long-staple 

 upland cotton of the United States. 



Varieties. American upland varieties are of two principal 

 classes, namely, short-staple and long-staple (Figs. 75 and 76). 

 There is another class, transitional with either of the foregoing 

 classes, called " Benders " or " Rivers " the names signifying any 

 common type grown on rich, moist bottom lands and hence pro- 



