A downy or woolly substance, enclosed in the pod, or seed-vessel, of the cotton-plant. The commercial classification of cotton is determined—1, by cleanliness or freedom from sand, dry leaf, and other impurities; 2, by absence of color; both subject also to character of staple, length, and strength and fineness of fibre. These together determine relative value. There are two general classifications, long-stapled and short-stapled. Of the former the best is the sea island cotton of the United States. The short staple cotton, grows in the middle and upper country; the long staple is cultivated in the lower country near the sea, and on the islands near the coasts.
How is it cultivated?
The seeds are sown in ridges made with the plough or hoe; when the plants are mature, the pods open, and the cotton is picked from them.
Where did Cotton anciently grow, and for what was it used?
In Egypt, where it was used by the priests and sacrificers, for a very singular kind of garment worn by them alone.
In what manufacture is it now used?
It is woven into muslins, dimities, cloths, calicoes, &c.; and is also joined with silks and flax, in the composition of other stuffs, and in working with the needle.
How is the Cotton separated from the seed?
By machines called cotton gins, of which there are two kinds; the roller-gin, and the saw-gin. In the former, the cotton, just as gathered from the plant, is drawn between two rollers, placed so closely together as to permit the passage of the cotton, but not of the seeds, which are consequently left behind. In the saw-gin, the cotton is placed in a receiver, one side of which consists of a grating of parallel wires, about an eighth of an inch apart; circular saws, revolving on a common axis between these wires, entangle in their teeth the cotton, and draw it from the seeds, which are too large to pass between the wires.
How is it made into Calico, &c.?