Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-10-18

Genoa brought cotton to England, in
exchange for wooden goods, that it's
possible commercial and industrial
importance was realized. Although
Columbus gives no description what
ever Of the cotton plant. later Spanish
and Portuguese explorers found cot
ton garments worn and cotton ex-
tensively cultivated by the Indians on
the islands Of the West Indies and
in Mexico, Peru and Brazil. Cortez
speaks highly of the skill Of the Mex
lean natives in cotton weaving and
spinning. Pizarro found cotton fab.
RIGS in ancient Peruvian tomts which
some modern archaeologists trace
back to civilization antedating that
of the 1ncas. Early Portuguese his
torians describe cotton as they found
1t in Brazil.
The word cotton is derived from
the Arabic qutun, which originally
denoted fax. #s:ssss
The cotton plant is a member of
the Malvaceoe or mallow family, and
the total number of species actually
existing is very large. In its wild
state it is apt to be perennial, but
when cultivated it frequently be-
comes an annual. In size the plant
varies from less than foot high to
sixteen or more feet The flowers are
either single OF in clusters, varying
greatly in size, while the color ranges
from yellowish white to a pale vel.
tow and rusty red. There are in
finite variations in the form and size
Of the leaves, some being smooth and
glossy and others hairy. but they are
always lobed, having three, five or
seven lobes. What ia known as the
"boll' is, for manufacturing purposes.
the most important part of the plant,
as It contains not only the seeds but
also the floss. The pure white va
rieties Of floss, obtained by careful
cultivation and selection, are pre-
ferred, but among the brown and rust
colored varieties there are some Of
high industrial value. The cotton
bud develops in the following man.
ner: First, the flower; then the ma
tursd "bol1" or pod; next, the hard
outer covering opens, revealing the
white wool-like material within, and,
finally, when the white material con-
tanning the seeds is removed there
remain the four husks of the boil.
Cotton is primarily native of the
tropics, and the number of species
diminish rapidly in direct ratio to
their distance from the equator. The
cotton plant, whether wild or cult
waited, is found in belt of land en-.
| circling the globe between IS de-
grees north latitude and 30 degrees
south latitude, though only where
local climatic conditions are favorable
can cotton be raised as far north as
As degrees, as for example in Asiatic
Russia, which has the same latitude
as Massachusetts,
The chief cotton-producmg areas Of
the world embrace: In the United
States. the southern states. including
all those parallel with or south az
North Carolina. as far west as New
Mexico; practically all Of British In
dia; and Egypt. which ranks third "a
=: SNySsOA47 - OA0~AA6 CO0AeTy, followed
BY Asiatfc Russia. Central China and
Japan. Brazil, Mexico and Peru
Among other countries where consid.
cradle quantities Of cotton are grown.
or can be grown. are Paraguay. Colon.
bfa. Venezuela and Central America.
The Latfn.American field has remark
able possibilities. s.1
i - 4 : Z
n the seventeenth century the flrst
attempt to grow cotton was made Il
Virginia. and by 1863 the staple had
already become Of much national in.
portance in the British colonies 81
North America .s.2
Cotton in England became com.
petttor to the then strongly IA.
trenched WOODEN industry, and it's
manufacture being made profitable
through the great inventions Of Ark.
wright and Others, 1t received govern
mental protection and announcement.
ArkWrfght's and other EngNsh patents
were introduced into America. and at
the close Of the eighteenth century
Whftney,s gin was invented.
The cotton industry In the United
States was terribly paralyzed 81 the
Civil wal, and It cost the southern
states = ysars = resain th4ir fosnaer