The Libby herald., 1911-12-07
HEN and where cotton was
AI first utilized in the indus
trial activities of the world
cannot be definitely estab-

NsAA1oS Oc uCllulICly 0SldU
lished. 1t does not appea
to have been cultivated or woven int,
FABRICS In ancient Egypt, and exper
chemical analysis Of the cloths uset
Tor wrapping Egyptian mummies
proves that these materials We're O
linen and not cotton. The records O
India, on the other hand, demonstrate
that from time immemorial the cot
ton plant was cultivated and it's fibel
converted into wearing apparel, and EN-.
ployed in the useful and ornamental
arts Cotton has also been known and
used for thousand years, at least, in
China and Japan. In the rich ltera.
ture of India this benefcent plant is
hardly more than incidentally men
toned Its textile value and uses
were known to the Hebrews and
Phoenicians, and probably through
the latter, to the Greeks and Romans.
The Arabs and Saracens introduced
cotton into western Europe in the
ninth century, but it was rot until the
fifteenth century, when merchants of
Genoa brought cotton to England, in
exchange for woolen 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 ard cotton e%,
tensively cultivated by the indians on
the islands Of the West Indies and
in Mexico, Peru and Brazil. Cor ez
speaks highly of the Skill of the Mex
lean natives in cotton weaving and
spinning. Pizarro found cotton fab
rics in ancient Peruvian tombs which
some modern archaeologists trace
back to civilization antedating that
of the Incas. Early Portuguese his
torians describe cotton as they found
it in Brazil
The cotton plant is a member of
the Malvaceoe or mallow family, and
the total number of species actually
existing Is very large. In it's 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 a foot high to
sixteen or more feet. The flowers are
either single or in clusters. varying
greatly In size, while the color ranges
from yellowish white to a pale yell
low and a 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 is 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
and selection, are pre-
ferred but among the brown and rust
rolored varieties there are some of
high industrial value
Cotton is primarily a native Of the
tropics, and the number of species
diminish rapidly in direct ratio to
heir distance from the equator. The
'otton plant, whether wild or cult
rated Is found in a belt Of land en-
,ircling the globe between As de-
,rees north latitude and 30 degrees
outh latitude. though only where ,
ocal climatic conditions are favorable +.
an cotton be raised as far north as .
5 degrees, as for example In Asiatic :
sussia, which has the same latitude 9
8 Massachusetts,.
The chief cotton-producing areas of q
he world embrace: In the United
tates, the southern states, including :,
II those parallel with or south of !,
'orth Carolina, as far west as New A
1exico; practically all of British In g
Ia: and Egypt, which ranks third as q
cotton-produc1ng country, followed O
y Aslat1c Russia, Central China and ~
apan, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. ;,
mong other countries where consid- -
rable quantities of cotton are grown, ~
r can be grown, are Paraguay, Colon ,c
III, Venezuela and Central America
he Latin-American field has remark ~
BILE possibilities. -.
In the seventeenth century the first n,
tempt to grow cotton was made in II
irginia, and by 1853 the staple had ~
ready become Of much national i'm. -,
'rtance in the British colonies of fa
orth America. r,
cotton in England became a COM in
't'tor to the then strongly in &C
enched Woolen industry, and its III
ahnfacture being made profitable III
rough the great inventions of Ark r.
right and others, It received govern ri
entail protection and encouragement A,
'kWrlght's and other English patents tr
ere introduced into America. and at M