The land is made ready for the seed during the winter.
As soon as the frost is gone Mother Earth is given her baby seeds to
care for.
Soon the beautiful plantlets appear.
The leaves are of a dark green.
Then later come the pale yellow flowers.
The plants must then be well cared for.
Toward autumn the fruit is seen.
This looks like a walnut still in its rough coat.
[Illustration: COTTON BALLS.]
Then the pods burst.
The field is then beautiful.
It looks as if it were covered with snow.
Then comes the hard work of the picking.
All hands upon the plantation must then work in the fields.
The slaves of long ago were kept very busy during this season.
The women and children worked.
They have to be careful that the cotton is quite dry when picked.
If it were damp the cotton would mould.
This would spoil it for use.
Can you imagine a snow-white field dotted with black people?
Their bright eyes must have shone still more brightly there.
The cotton does not all ripen at one time.
But it must be gathered soon after the pods are burst.
[Illustration]
This is because the sun injures the color of the cotton.
Or the rain and dews injure it.
Or the winds may blow it away.
So the cotton pickers were kept busy from August until the frost
came.
They went over the same fields many times.
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