CHAPTER XIX 

 THE FIBER CROPS 



COTTON 



HERODOTUS, the Greek historian who lived in the 

 fourth century B.C. and was a noted traveler in his day, 

 wrote of " tree wool " that was grown in India and used 

 there for clothing. The tree wool of India, described by this 

 historian, is none other than cotton which had probably 

 been grown there for many years before his visit. From 

 India it was introduced into Egypt and other parts of north- 

 ern Africa. It is said that Alexander the Great brought it 

 from India and introduced it into southern Europe. 

 Columbus found cotton growing in the West Indies ; and 

 when Cortez with his band invaded what is now Mexico, 

 they found the natives there wearing clothes made from 

 it. Records of the early explorers who visited Central 

 America and Brazil and Peru in South America show that 

 here, too, the cotton plant was known. It is probable 

 that cotton is a native of the tropics of both hemispheres, 

 and has for centuries been cultivated to some extent and 

 used by the people of these countries for clothing. India 

 for many centuries was the most important cotton-growing 

 country, but within the last one hundred years has given 

 way to the United States. Cotton does not seem to have 

 been grown by the Indians that occupied the section of 

 the country now renowned for its extensive cotton fields. 

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