Lesson CLXX

Cotton

Leading thought—Cotton has had a great influence upon our country politically as well as industrially. Its fibre was used by the ancients, and it is to-day one of the most important crops in the regions where it is grown.

Method—A cotton plant with blossoms and ripe bolls upon it may be brought into the schoolroom or studied in the field.

Observations—1. How many varieties of cotton do you know? Which kind is it you are studying?

2. What sort of root has the cotton plant? Does it go deep into the soil?

3. How high does the plant grow? Are the stems tough or brittle? What is the color of the bark? Of the wood? Do you know of a country where cotton stalks are used for fuel? Do the stem and branches grow erect or very spreading?

4. Are the leaves opposite or alternate? Are the petioles as long as the leaves? Are there any stipules where the petioles join the main stem? How many forms of leaves can you find on the same stem? How do the upper differ from the lower leaves? Describe or sketch one of the large upper leaves, paying especial attention to the veins and the shape of the lobes.

5. Look at the lower side of a leaf and find, if you can, a little pit on the midrib near its base. How many of these pits can you find on the veins of one leaf? What is the fluid in these pits? Taste it and see if it is sweet. Watch carefully a growing plant and describe what insects you find feeding on this nectar. Note if the wasps and ants, feeding on this nectar, attack the caterpillars of the cotton worm which destroy the leaf. Where are the nectar-glands of plants usually situated?

6. Study the flower bud; what covers it? How many of these bracts cover the flower bud? What is their shape and how do their edges look? Push back the bracts and find and describe the calyx. How are the petals folded in the bud?

7. Take the open flower; how many petals are there, and what is their shape? At what time of day do the flowers open? What color are the petals when the flowers first open? What is their color later in the day? What is their color the next day? When do the petals fall?

8. Describe the stamens; how are they joined? How are the anthers situated on the stamen-tube? Is the stamen-tube perfectly straight or does it bend at the tip?

9. Peel off carefully the stamen-tube and describe what you find within it. How many stigmas come out of the tip of the tube? Find the ovary below the stamen-tube. Which part of the flower grows into the cotton-boll?

10. Take a boll nearly ripe; what covers it? Push away the bracts; can you find the calyx still present? What is the shape of the boll? What is its color and texture? Can you see the creases where it will open? How many are there of these?

11. Open a nearly ripe boll very carefully. How many partitions are there in it? Where are they in relation to the openings? Gently push back the cotton from the seeds without loosening them, and describe how the seeds are connected with the partitions. Is the seed attached by its pointed or blunt end?

12. How many seeds in each chamber in the cotton boll? Where on the seed does the cotton grow? How does the cotton blanket wrap about the seed? If the cotton is not picked what happens to it? Of what use to the wild cotton plant are seeds covered with cotton?

13. What makes the cotton-boll open? Describe an open and empty boll outside and inside.

14. How much cotton is considered a good crop per acre in your vicinity? How much cotton can a good picker gather in a day?

15. Write English themes on the following topics: “The history of the cotton plant from ancient times until to-day,” “How the cotton plant has affected American history.”

“Queen-consort of the kingly maize,
The fair white cotton shares his throne,
And o’er the Southland’s realm she claims
A just allegiance, all her own.”

—Minnie Curtis Wait.