cotton

1038 Words3 Pages

Cotton was and still is a vital crop plant, it chiefly provided the South with a monetary advantage over several parts of the United States, and as for me… it made my family. My grandmother would have never left the small town of Moultrie, Georgia in search of a new life in South Florida, she was tired of picking cotton and knew there were better prospects. Even though cotton is an essential part of our daily wear, there were painful recollections surrounding the harvesting of cotton from my descendants. My mother, my grandmother and my great- grandmother all handpicked cotton, and as a child listening to their stories, I had a negative connotation of the crop, nevertheless there is more to cotton than what I comprehend. Cotton is not just a universal crop, but it has a universal name, according to the source, Natural History and Commercial History of Cotton by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce the chief title of cotton is gossypium. The source explains that this genus belongs to the monadelphous class of Linnaeus, and to the usual order of Malvaceous plants. Cotton has very distinct characteristics, “It is characterized by the three long deeply cut segments into which its outer calyx is divided ; by its large, handsome blossoms of five petals, of a yellow, orange, or reddish colour, with or without a central spot of a deeper tint…”(Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce 139). Cotton has copious stamens which are amalgamated in several different ways, some include the base of the stamen, or by single style which include three- five stigmas, or by its seeds which have several contained in each one. The source further delves into the characteristics o...

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...ittle effort and the increasing political strife amongst neighboring countries, it appears impossible. “Its soil is extremely fertile and well watered, with every variety of agricultural and mineral wealth to promote development. Its climate is almost perfect, and it is one of the few tropical lands where cotton can live and increase…” (Hogan 899). The source affirms that some countries have prospered from cotton production, such as Uganda and Nigeria, but seldom have other countries thrived. Cotton is not only used in clothes, towels, and jeans, but is used in fishing nets, tents, coffee filters, paper, socks, and it is used as filling for car seats, pillows, and furniture. In essence, I wear cotton and unintentionally I see it and use it habitually. Often times, I am unaware of its prominence in my life, but hence it truly is the “fabric of our lives”.

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