DESCRIPTION OF THE COTTON PLANT 



13 



on the stem or branch. They are petioled, somewhat 

 heart-shaped, three to seven-lobed and three to seven- 

 veined. The petioles 

 and veins are often 

 hairy. The mid- 

 veins, and some- 

 times the adjacent 

 ones, bear a gland 

 one-third the dis- 

 tance from their 

 base. In some cases 

 these glands are ab- 

 sent. Cotton leaves 

 are very variable in 

 size, even on the 

 same plant. They 

 range from three to 

 six inches in length 

 and from two to 

 five inches in width. 

 The leaves of the 

 American upland 

 cotton (both short 

 and long staple) are 

 most commonly 

 three-lobed, some- 

 times fi V 6-1 O b e d. FIG. 3. Stalk of Lone Star upland cpt- 

 mi_ i -i ton, with (a) vegetative and (6) fruiting 



The lobes are rather branches from the same node. 



blunt, the spaces be- 

 tween lobes being shallow. This is especially true as re- 

 gards the big-boll kinds. Certain of the small-boll kinds, 

 of which King and Peterkin are representatives, produce 

 leaves having narrow sharp-pointed lobes. The leaves 



