Facts About Cotton
Creator
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Agricultural Economics
Date
1938
Subject
cotton
crop development
Relation
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Leaflet Number 167
Excerpt
COTTON is the great crop of the South. It is grown on about 2 million farms in the southern part of our country. The average size of the crop is about 13 million bales of cotton lint, each weighing about 500 pounds, and about 6 million tons of cottonseed.
Large quantities of cotton are grown in other countries, too — chiefly India, China, Egypt, Brazil, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. These cottons differ in quality to some extent from those grown in the United States and there is also considerable variation in the varieties and qualities of cotton produced here. Usually about one-half of our crop is used in our own mills. The remainder is exported chiefly to Japan, Great Britain, and the continent of Europe.
The planting of cotton begins in February in the southernmost parts of the Cotton Belt, and moves northward. At the northern edge of the belt and at the higher elevations planting usually is completed in May. As the pictures suggest, the methods of cultivating, harvesting, and handling vary through the Cotton Belt, from rather primitive in some sections, to very modern in others. The crop requires hand work. Usually cotton pickers of all ages are in great demand for picking from August through November. A field of open cotton bolls with pickers along the rows is a characteristic southern scene.
Large quantities of cotton are grown in other countries, too — chiefly India, China, Egypt, Brazil, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. These cottons differ in quality to some extent from those grown in the United States and there is also considerable variation in the varieties and qualities of cotton produced here. Usually about one-half of our crop is used in our own mills. The remainder is exported chiefly to Japan, Great Britain, and the continent of Europe.
The planting of cotton begins in February in the southernmost parts of the Cotton Belt, and moves northward. At the northern edge of the belt and at the higher elevations planting usually is completed in May. As the pictures suggest, the methods of cultivating, harvesting, and handling vary through the Cotton Belt, from rather primitive in some sections, to very modern in others. The crop requires hand work. Usually cotton pickers of all ages are in great demand for picking from August through November. A field of open cotton bolls with pickers along the rows is a characteristic southern scene.
Title
Facts About Cotton
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