Then, after a busy day in the field, other work remained to be done.
The cotton pickers sat upon the ground in a circle.
From the midst of the cotton they took the black seeds.
These seeds were very troublesome.
They are covered with hairs.
They cling fast to the cotton.
These naughty children of the plant love their mother.
So fast do they cling to her, that a person could clean but one
pound of cotton in a whole day.
So you may understand why so little was raised.
In 1784, eight bags of cotton were taken from the United States to
England.
These were seized by the custom officers.
These officers are those who look after goods sent in or out of a
country.
If money is to be paid upon the goods, it is called a duty.
The custom officers must see that the duty is paid.
These men said that this cotton could not have come from America.
During the next two years less than one hundred-twenty bags were
sent there from our country.
The treaty of peace with England was made in 1794.
None of the treaty-makers then knew that any cotton was raised in
America.
Would you like to know why, fifty years later, a million bales were
sent from America?
This is the story:
In the war with England, America had some brave generals.
One of these was General Nathaniel Greene.
He had helped to win victories in the South.
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