Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/570

COTTON. 486 COTTON-INSECTS. now consists of nearly 900 volumes, of which, says Jlr. Edwards in his Memoirs of Libraries, "nearly 200 are State papers of the higliest value. They include a vast series relating to the diplo- matic intercourse between England and almost every State of Europe, extending from the reign of Edward III. to that of James I. A large pro- portion of these documents consist of the original letters of soereigns and of statesmen. Even those papers which are not original have a high degree of authority as coeval transcripts." The Cottonian Library was transferred to the British Museum (q.v. ) in 1757. In addition to the JISS., the collection includes many valuable coins and antiquities. Among Cotton's works may be mentioned, in addition to those referred to above: I'orrer of the Peeres aud Comons of Parliament in point of Judicature (1G40) ; Cot- toni Postuma — Choice Pieces of that Renowned Antiquarii (1672) ; Dirers Short Pieces Exposed to Publick Liijht htj J. Hoircll (1679) ; "Speech before the Pri^^' Council touching the Alteration of Coyn," in Shaw, Select Tracts atid Documents (1896). Consult, also: Calendars of State Pa- pers (London. 1591-1631); Parliamentary Jour- nals (London) ; Planta, Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Cottonian Lihrarr) (London, 1802); Smith. Catalogue (Oxford, 1696). con- taining a memoir: Kippis. '"Robert Bruce Cot- ton," in Biog. Brit. (London. 1797); D'Ewes, Autohioyraphij (2 vols., London, 1845) : Xichols. Progresses of James I. (4 vols., London, 1828) ; id., Leicestersliire (London, 1705-1811); Gardi- ner, History of England (London, 1883-84). COTTON-BIRD. A small South African tit- mouse {.Egithaliis Capensis) , called hapok rogel (i.e. 'cotton-bird') by the Cape Colony Dutch on account of its wonderful nest, made of cottony materials, which closely resembles the nest of its congener, the penduline titmouse of Europe, illus- trated on the Plate of Pensile XEST.S of Birds. 'See XiniFlc.Tiox : Titmovse. ) This nest, first figured l)v Le Vaillant {Oiseaux d'Afrit/ue. Paris, 1806 ) .whose jjicture has been widely copied. is usu- ally wrongly assigned to an entirely different bird. COTTON FAMINE. The name given to an industrial crisis in the manufacturing towns of northern England, occasioned by. the almost com- plete disappearance of cotton imports from the ITnited States during the last three years of the Civil War. As a result of the blockade of the Southern ports by the Fed- eral Government, the importation of cotton from the United States into Great Britain sank from more than 1.000,000.000 pounds in 1860 to 816.000,000 pounds in 1861, 13.000.000 pounds in 1802, and 6,000.000 pounds in 1863 : and as the imports from the United States constituted more than three-fourths of the total supplv. the blow to the cotton industry in Lancashire was a stun- ning one. The suffering fell most heavil.v on the mill operatives, who, as a body, were brought to the verge of starvation by the partial or complete suspension of production. In November, 1862, it was estimated that more than 350.000 persons in Lancashire were subsisting on parochial relief or private charit.v. It is a notable fact that, in spite of their great privations, the factorv popu- lation of Lancashire was in thorough sym])athy with the Northern cause, which they regarded as a crusade against slavery. Consult Arnold. His- tory of the Cotton Famine (London, 1865). . COTTON-GIN. A machine for separating the cotton fibre from the seed, invented by Eli Wliitney of JIassachusetts and patented JIarch 14, 1794. Previously the work had been done by hand, a slow and tedious process, four pounds per day being the average of one man. See Cotton. COTTON-GRASS (from its cottony spike), Eriophorum. A genus of plants of the natural order Cyperace*, having the fruit accompanied with long, silky hairs which spring from the base of the ovary. The species are not very numerous; they are natives chiefly of the colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Several are found in America, and their white, cottony fruit-bearing spikes are well known in our swamps and bogs. The cottony substance is used for stutling pillows, etc., and it is claimed that cloth may be made from it. The fibre lacks the twist of the cotton fibre and cannot be spun as readily. The stems of a Himalayan species, Eriophorum cannabinum, called bhabliur. yield a very strong fibre, and are nuich employed for making cordage, being simply twisted into cables, of which rope bridges are usualh' made ; but thej' are not durable, and require much repairing every year. Cotton-grass- is said to be valuable for sheep-pasture. COTTON-INSECTS. The most important of the insects injurious to the Americaii cotton- culture is the cotton-worm, the larva of a noc- tuid moth {Aletia xylina). which sometimes de- foliates whole districts. It is believed to be South American, and first became strikingly harmful in the Southern States in 1804. It is now kno«Ti all over the I.'nion. but its Northern food-plant is unknown. A Government commis- sion reported in 1879 that the average loss to the cotton-growing States due to its ravages was then fronr.$15,000.000 to .'f20,000.000 annually. The moth is 1 ^A inches in spread of wings, the fore wings and body reddish broxm, with delicate zigzag markings, and the hinder wings pale gray- brown. It flies at night, and deposits eggs singly or sparsely on the under side of the leaves of the cotton-plant, where they hatch in midsum- mer in about 50 to 60 hours. The caterpillars begin at once to devour the leaves, and so many are thev, sometimes, that whole fields have been defoliated in three days, when the caterpillars swarm elsewlicre in search of more food. In mid- svmimer the caterpillars remain about thirteen days, then fold a leaf about themselves and spin a cocoon in which they pupate. In two to four da.vs after issuing from the chr%'salis the female moth begins to lav — her average product lieing 400 eggs in the season. The natural food is the .juice exuding from the glands on the leaf's midrib and at the base of blooms and bolls: but it will feed on an.v kind of fruit as it ripens. Until the worms are numerous enough to riddle the leaves badl.v. the moths continue to lay near their birthphice ; then they migrate to con,sider- •able distances — seldom, however, until after the third generation of worms, say Julv 1, in south- ern Te.xas. Migrations are most common in the fall months, the moths fl.ving at night and on cloud.v da.vs. In the Southern States only the moths hibernate (the worms never, nor any- where), hibemation being more frequent in the Southwestern than in the Atlantic States. The moths hibernate linder bark, in logs and timbers, etc., and mild winters are more severe on them than cold ones, which keep them torpid.