482 FIELD CROPS 



saved from these, resistant strains may be produced. This 

 disease is confined to the southeastern part of the cotton 

 belt. In Texas, particularly on the heavier lands, root rot 

 is common. This disease attacks the roots of all tap- 

 rooted plants, including cotton, the legumes, and many 

 kinds of fruit trees. The most effective remedies in cotton 

 fields are rotation of crops and deep fall plowing. The 

 disease does not affect corn, the small grains, or grasses. 



632. The Uses of the Lint. The lint of cotton is the most 

 important of the world's fibers, furnishing clothing for a very 

 large part of all the people. It is the largest item in our 

 world trade, and the production of cotton goods is the largest 

 of manufacturing enterprises. The lint is first spun into 

 thread or yarn and is then woven into all manner of fabrics. 

 Upland cotton is used in the manufacture of a large variety 

 of cloths, either alone or in mixtures with wool, flax, or silk. 

 Thread is largely made from long staple upland, while Sea 

 Island cotton is used for making the finer threads and 

 fabrics. 



633. Uses of the Seed. Cotton seed was for many years 

 thrown away as worthless or was used only as a fertilizer. 

 During the last thirty or forty years the development of the 

 cotton-seed oil industry has furnished a ready market for the 

 seed, and it is now a valuable part of the crop. The whole 

 seed is still used to some extent as a feed or fertilizer, but 

 most of it goes to the oil mills. The products from the seed 

 are numerous, the primary ones being the linters, hulls, and 

 meats. "Linters" is the short lint or fuzz which covers the 

 seed and which is not removed in ginning. This fuzz is 

 removed by a special ginning process and used for cotton 

 batting, carpets, and coarse twine. The next process is to 

 remove the hulls, as these would absorb the oil. These hulls 

 have some value as fuel and fertilizer, and are also used for 



