THE FIBER CROPS 339 



part of the United States is a shrub-like plant, varying in 

 height from 2 to 6 feet, the average under field conditions 

 being probably 3J feet. Cotton is a perennial in the 

 tropics, but in this country it is an annual. It has a 

 well-developed tap root which penetrates three feet or 

 more into the soil, depending upon its nature. The 

 lateral or feeding branches are given off within 3 or 4 

 inches of the surface and do not penetrate deeply; the 

 plant is therefore shallow rooted when compared with 

 corn or wheat. Sometimes if the soil is fully drained and 

 the watertable is near the surface of the ground, the tap 

 root may grow down to a point near the watertable and 

 then grow horizontally. In poor soils the tap root fre- 

 quently is small and is hardly distinguishable from the 

 small feeding roots. 



355. The stem and leaves. The stem is erect, with 

 branches coming out from the several nodes between the 

 leaf and the stem. The branches from the nodes near the 

 bottom of the plant are long, but each succeeding branch 

 is usually shorter, so that those near the top are quite 

 short, giving the plant a somewhat conical shape. There 

 are two kinds of branches, namely, the vegetative, those 

 which do not produce bolls or fruit, and the fruiting 

 branches. Usually two branches grow from each node 

 on the main stem, although quite frequently one of them 

 does not develop. The fruiting branches have few leaves, 

 while the vegetative branches bear them in considerable 

 numbers. The stem and branches are solid and woody 

 and vary with the different varieties in their manner of 

 growth. The length and character of the branches are 

 factors of considerable importance in the identification 

 of varieties. The leaves are arranged alternately and 

 vary in size and shape even on the same plant. Those 



