592 TRANSACTIONS OP THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE 



ready to our hands, and all that we have to do is to reach forth 

 our hand and take it. There is no rasping, or pounding, or 

 grinding necessary to prepare it. Another reason is the uniform- 

 ity in the length of its fiber. Different varieties have a fiber of 

 different lengths, that of the Sea Island cotton being long and 

 fine. The average of upland cotton is about three-quarters of an 

 inch, and the variartion between the length of the different fibers 

 of the same variety is less than one-fourtn of an inch. Other 

 materials, as hemp, have a much longer fiber, which is convenient 

 in coarse work, but will not answer for the purposes to which 

 cotton is applied. In the manufacture of cotton it is passed 

 through a series of pairs of rollers, each revolving twice as rapidly 

 as the next before it, which draws it out to a great length and 

 with uniformity. No other fiber can be drawn out upon that 

 principle to the same extent. After being passed through the 

 rollers once, a dozen or more threads are placed together and 

 passed through again ; and so on, until each ultimate strand of 

 cotton thread has been passed through several thousand times. 

 Another property of cotton is its adhesiveness, which gives it 

 Btrength and enables us to draw it out to extreme fineness. 



Mr. R. L. Pell. — The word cotton has been adopted from the 

 Arabic word meaning the same article, and which, when put in 

 English letters, would be pronounced "koturn;" in Egypt it is 

 called "gotun;" in Spain, "algodon;" in Germany, " baum- 

 wolle." This substance has to a great extent superseded linen, 

 silk and wool as a material for dress, being found admirable for 

 sheetings and shirtings. Within the memory of many persons in 

 this room it has risen from insignificance to be one of the most 

 flourishing branches of American industry, surpassing ■ other 

 fabrics that have existed for hundreds of years. 



It was known and used 400 years before Christ, as mentioned 

 by Herodotus. It is spoken of by Arrian and Strabo. Pliny 

 describes it, and says it grew and flourished in Upper Egypt. 

 The Arabians were the first that brought it into general use. 



The cotton plant is found growing wild on the Niger, Gambia, 

 Senegal and other African rivers ; also on the coast of Guinea, 

 from whence cotton cloth was carried to London in 1590. And 

 was also used as clothing by the Mexicans when America was 

 discovered by the Spaniards. Its manufacture was introduced 

 into Europe by the Moors of Spain, who at the same time effected 

 the introduction of the silkworm, mulberry tree," rice, and sugar- 



