COTTON 
247 
fertile, moist, loam soils. The short and long staple 
upland cotton makes up the bulk of the cotton crop. 
Sea Island cotton is grown in small areas along the 
South Atlantic and Gulf Coast. It differs from the 
upland cotton in that the seed is small and black and 
the lint is fine, strong, and silky, varying from l 1 /, to 2 
inches in length. Owing to its low yields and special 
environment Sea Island cotton is not grown extensively. 
Fic, 176—Removing stalks from cotton field and fall plowing. 
The Leading Cotton States.—The principal cotton 
producing states are: Texas, Georgia, Alabama, South 
Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, North Caro¬ 
lina, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida. 
Sea Island cotton is grown in Florida, Georgia, and 
South Carolina. Cotton requires six months of warm 
weather for growth and maturity and for this reason its 
production will be restricted to warm climates. 
Varieties of Cotton.—We have many varieties of 
Upland cotton grown in the United States. In many 
ways they are similar in type of stalk and character of 
lint. The difference is the result of selection, breeding, 
