CHAPTER XXXVI. 
CONCLUSION :—THE EPIC OF THE COTTON THAT IS 
YET TO BE WRITTEN 
We have now followed the progress of the cotton 
plant—followed it in history from the time the 
ancient disciples of Brahma in the Orient first 
began its use; followed it in growing from the time 
the seed is put into the cool, fresh earth in spring 
until its snowy harvest is gathered in December; 
followed it in marketing and manufacturing from 
the time it passes through Whitney’s gin until the 
once-rejected seed are turned to a_ thousand 
growing uses of mankind and the lint is set to its 
task of making prince’s palace more gorgeous or 
beggar’s body more comfortable; followed it in 
commerce from the sunny fields of Texas or 
Mississippi to the frozen regions of the Arctic or 
the sleeping Empire of the Celestials, or to our new- 
caught, sullen peoples in far-away Asia or Africa. 
And yet we have not written, as we should like to 
write, the real Epic of the Cotton. In fact, it 
cannot be written yet, for we have not yet come to a 
realization of the full significance of the South’s 
great industry. 
It is indeed a rich heritage that we have—a 
monopoly of the American export crop which not 
only surpasses any other in value, but is worth more 
than all others combined; a monopoly of the one 
(330) 
