Raw Cotton in Many Colors.
In South Carolina there is a cotton grower, W. Brabham, who maintains that cotton may be colored before it is grown. He says: “I have now in prospect or on hand red, brown, green, and gray cotton.” Some he got by means of hybridizing. Red is native to Peru, gray is grown in India, brown in Egypt, yellow in China, and black is being developed in Mexico, according to Mr. Brabham.
He says soil has no effect on the colors, and he believes that it will be possible to grow practically any desired shade as a result of crossing the various available colors. Thus, if the war makes it impossible to obtain dyes, we may be able to get along with the aid of nature and have the additional certainty that the colors will be fast.