Textiles, for Commercial, Industrial, and Domestic Arts Schools / Also Adapted to Those Engaged in Wholesale and Retail Dry Goods, Wool, Cotton, and Dressmaker's Trades

by William H. Dooley

FOOTNOTE:

[15] Suggestions To Teachers. In connection with the study of fabrics the author has found it advisable to have the pupils insert in a blank book a sample of the fabric they are studying. In this way the pupil can examine both the filling (weft) and warp threads.

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CHAPTER IX

COTTON

Cotton. Cotton is the most important vegetable fiber used in spinning. The cotton fiber is a soft, downy substance which grows around the cotton seed. When examined under the microscope it appears as a long twisted cell. Owing to the fact that the cotton-plant yields so readily to the varying conditions of soil and climate, there is a large variety of cottons, each having some peculiarity which is considered enough to place it in a distinct class. An idea of the number of species of the cotton-plant can be obtained from the fact that the United States Department of Agriculture has recorded about one hundred and thirty varieties. The most important varieties are: Gossypium herbaceum, G. arboreum, G. hirsutum, G. barbadense, and G. peruvianum. The botanical name of a plant is divided into two parts: first the family name, followed by the species name.

The Gossypium herbaceum grows from four to six feet in height and bears a yellow flower. The seeds are covered with a short gray down. The fiber it bears is classed as short. It is found in Egypt, Asia Minor, Arabia, India, and China. The short-stapled variety of Egyptian cotton is from this species.

The G. arboreum when full grown attains a height from fifteen to twenty feet. The seed is covered with a greenish fur and is enveloped in a fine, silky down, yellowish white in color. It is found in Egypt, Arabia, and China.

The G. hirsutum is a shrubby plant, its maximum height being about six feet. The young pods are hairy, and the seeds are numerous and covered with a firmly adhering green down. It is probable that this is the original of the green-seeded cotton which is now cultivated so extensively in the Southern States of America, and which forms the bulk of the supply from that source.