The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-06-26
TT Is IN OKLAHOMA
Beautiful { SCENES IN THE TERRI
TORY IS COTTON FIELDS.


Kansas are Surprised by thu
White FIowers--Descrip
u. re Plant Germinates--Ths
a The, Use--Diversity of Colo,
... Rlossoms--Some of the
,;,.;.sofa Cotton Field Seer
by a Close Observe.
cutbrie O. T., June 25.-(Special)-
1you, tho Kansas man S eyes do STICK
.,,+ when he comes to Oklahoma and
looks upon her cotton fiel DIS! The Kan
cos man is ant 10 confu Sc Oklahoma
with Kansas. The Kansas man has rel
atives here. He knows that most OF lhe
,.oonla in Okla homa are from the north,
and he cannot associate cotton helds
with his old northern friends. but Ahe
cotton fields are here and 1hey arr
now blooming. They are very peaullId III
The first cotton blossom appears
about the 18th Of June, ana from t the
-.parming" of the embryo boil 20 the
time of its full maturity cotton passes
through many phase. The I oTnhS
first appear-curious, triangular Nttie
hox-liIe affairs, seemingly fpfIn''d 10y
the Joint contribution OF st 80
fringy-edged green leaves cenehte'l ~,
gether The forms" are Geh1iile 80
thicklv along the sprays when DR. anon
ont from the main stalk. In the depths
of tho .'forrns" the bud is Sermed ana
when the form has grown 10 sumo zen
size, the blossom springs up out OF us
centre. supported by the green IlnSe II
has held in a natural vase.
Tho cotton blossom is shaped like
Iilv and is DELEGATE in texture ne
first morning that it opens II IS 4 pare
cream color and CLEANS pure and spot
less amid the forage. Twelve O'Clock
finds il still gazing up at the sun Win
ont a hint of color staining its petals.
An hour later a delicate flush steals
over il. ike a blush that comes sud
denly 10 a fair girls check Brighter
and brighter the blush deepens as the
hours go by. and the S.nSet OF the DAY
that saw its birth finds the pure white
blossom transformed into a T'ose-colored
flower that reflects the glow OF the west
eln sky. 1t is wonderful, this laying on
of color by invisible hands even as we
gaze into the heart of the bloom. The
next morning the pink flower remains
unchanged, but by afternoon 1t IS
streaked and veined with the purpliSh
hues Of the morning glory. The fol-
lowing day a more pronounced purple
has cone over it. and so it goes on
deepening and darkening in tint until,
ioereft of its fresh beauty, its mission
fulfilled. il falls from the reluctant
grasp Of the form"
IF drap of rain fail cen de heart of
cotton blossom cen de mawnin, while
it's white dat blossom neber gwin mex
cotton" says a negro cotton grower,
and a white neighbor of his who exper-
imented with the plant to satisfy him
self as 70 the truth of this assertion
found it to be correct. The negro is
very ObSerVant and notes little things
that escape people whose minds are bet
ter furnished. Certain cotton blooms
that had opened for the first time on a
morning during which there was
shower We're marked 10 note results,
and were found never to mature. damp
ness at that early stage evidently haV-
ing "A fatal effect.
The cotton and the okra blossom
closely resemble each other in shape and
color; indeed. the plants are very sim
ilar in character and appearance, and
okra flourishes finely in a cotton patch
or in soil that has been prepared for
cotton. The difference between. the
blossoms is that the stamen of the cot
ton blossom is feathery looking and is
tinted just a shade deeper that the
flower itself, whereas the heart of the
okra blossom is lined with ruby velvet
and the stamen is dyed with the same
rich hue.
After the withered cotton bloom has
fallen away from the form" the firing
ed edges close again to shield the new
treasure Nesting in its heart the en-
hyro boil that all the time has been
forming beneath the blossoms tender
beauty. When the young boil has be-
come large enough, it thrusts aside the
protecting leaves of the form and dis
closes itself. a small green globe. smooth
4 f1-a Ii ina
marked upon its oval rind. As time
goes on. these lines becomes thread
like crevceS. which separate the boil
Into four or five equal divisions or plugs
Gradually these creViceS open wider and
glimpse may be had of the tough.
thickly packed mass within. yellow and
sticky looking. Soon the fattenfng
rains and maturing suns cause the con-
tents of the boil 10 swell in bulk and
force the divided plugs further and
further apart. until. in just SIX weeks
from the day that the lily-like blossom
made its appearance. these plugs have
rolled to their utmost capacity. leaving
a tuft of woody fibre, ripe and ready for
The pickers figures, exposed on their
Saucer-like centre. Successive suns
have hleached the yellow mass into
immaculate Wilderness. and passing
winds have ruttied the filmy fibres into
The fiUfliness of puff ball. The tuft of
new cottonjuSt released from the shell
retains the shape Of the separate plugs
in which ii was EMBEDDED. and each one
Of these Weil-defiued divisions contain
two or more seeds. so firmly entangled
in the fihrouS meSheS that the many
toothed saws Of the gin are required to
eNtricate them.
Herodotus. loco years ago, gave an
account Of a plant growing in India
which instead Of seed produced wool
So. As long ago as that aforementioned
age, cotton WAS recognized as a unique
growth. The antique historian doubt
less little dreamed Of the useful proper-
ties which lay in the seed which is hid
uen away 50 persiSteHtly in the fluffy
mass. and which. long used only as A
fertilizer. has now become 50 Valua BILE
for various purposes. The cotton plant
has one peculiar and distinguishing
trait When the suns's rays begin to
slant as its sinks in the west. the cot
Jon-leaVes droop and turn downward
toward the stalk. as if cuddling down
for the night: with the earliest beams of
the next morning. however. the plant
straiShtenS W as If in Joyous greeting
Of the warmth and light. Cotton IS eS-
senttaly sun plant. and. when days NJ
unusual tropical heat occur and every
thing else in nature seems u Swoon IN
der the SCorchinS rays. the cotton rows
look their best.
SAM HOUSTON WAS GENEROUS.
How He Disposed of Some of His Land in