COTTON. 43 
again of less valuable, because shorter, fibers, and finally 
of the short fuzzy coat that clings to them after the 
second cleaning. The result of the last cleaning is a 
very inferior cotton, used only for a few kinds of cheap 
cloth. 
Not all cotton has white fiber. The Nankin cotton, 
which is grown near the mouth of the Mississippi River 
in this country, is naturally of a light tan color. 
Cotton is one of the most useful plants in the world, 
and a great deal of attention is given to raising and 
manufacturing it. 
The cotton has to go through a good many processes 
before it is finally ready to be spun into thread and 
then woven into cloth. 
Some very useful cotton is not spun into thread, but 
comes to us in clean, soft rolls, which we call cotton 
batting. This is useful for many household purposes, 
and when very thoroughly cleaned is used by doctors 
in dressing wounds. 
A large part of our clothing is made from the cotton 
that grows on the seeds of the cotton plant. The plant 
did not make the cotton for us, but probably to enable 
its seeds to be carried away by the wind and firmly 
fastened to the ground, when they lodged there. For 
a cotton seed clings very tightly to the earth, particu- 
larly after it has been wet. 
Cotton seeds are very useful aside from the cotton 
