Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/409

Rh is of Mexican or West Indian origin, and has received the designation upland to distinguish it from the produce of the islands and low districts near the shore. It constitutes the great bulk of the crop in the United States. Thus in 1873, when the total production of cotton amounted to 3,930,508 bales, the crop of sea island was 26,289 bales. The sea island (G. arboreum or tree cotton) is the finest and best kind of cotton produced anywhere, and commands the highest price. It will not flourish at a distance from the sea, and its cultivation is limited to districts along the shores of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. The most favorable point for its production, in respect both to soil and climate, is Edisto island, on the coast of South Carolina, south of Charleston. The soil is light and sandy, but a little above tide, and its fertility is increased by the use, as manure, of mud from the surrounding salt marshes. The average yield per acre is little more than half of that of the upland. The staple or filament of sea island cotton is long, silken, and delicate, which renders it highly valuable in the production of the finest yarns. It is never introduced into the coarser muslins, but is used for the most delicate fabrics, and very largely in the manufacture of the finest quality of cotton thread; and it is also consumed in large quantities by silk manufacturers, the fine, soft, and glossy fibre rendering a mixture with the thread of the silkworm difficult to be detected.—The cotton plant is cultivated in the southern states from the seed, which is sown generally in March and April, in rows commonly 4 to 5 ft. apart, and in drills 18 inches apart. Machines have been invented and used for planting the seeds, but not with full success; accordingly the planting is generally done by hand. The soil is preferred light, even if sandy, and is kept well weeded by occasional hoeing or running a light plough or scraper between the rows. Sea island cotton is generally planted between March 20 and April 10, upon high beds, 5 ft. apart one way, and from 8 to 24 inches the other, according to the richness of the soil. In ten days or a fortnight after planting, rows of tiny leaflets appear bursting out of the moist earth, and early in June the plant begins to bloom.



It is said that no crop in the United States presents an appearance so beautiful as growing cotton, especially at the gathering season, when the globes of snowy wool are seen among the glossy dark green leaves; and the beauty of the plantation is still greater in the hotter countries, where the yellow blossom or flower and the ripened bolls are seen at the same time. In June the cotton fields present the appearance of vast flower gardens. The blossom resembles that of the hollyhock, and has the peculiarity of changing color from day to day. A flower, opening in the morning of a pale straw color, by noon will be pure white, in the afternoon faint pink, and the next morning clear pink. The blossom of the sea island, however, is always pale yellow. The height of the plant varies, according to soil and climate, from 2 to 6 ft. As the flowers fall off, the “forms” or young bolls begin to grow rapidly. At first they are somewhat angular in shape, but afterward assume a nearly spherical form. The cotton plant is often injured, and sometimes destroyed, by small animals or insects which attack the plant when very young. (See .) Early in August the picking season begins, and continues until November, and sometimes even until the latter part of December, as the plant continues to produce and ripen its bolls of cotton until the