Cotton Harvest with Machinery in Cotton Field

by Jo Ann Tomaselli

Title

Cotton Harvest with Machinery in Cotton Field

Artist

Jo Ann Tomaselli

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Cotton Harvest with Machinery in Cotton Field by Jo Ann Tomaselli will be on display at the Cape Fear History Museum, Wilmington, NC in 'Impressions of the Lower Cape Fear' through October 2013.

In North Carolina, the loamy soil is the perfect agricultural environment for planting cotton. The plants are sown in April and the flowering buds are harvested anywhere from September through November. Organic cotton is cultivated in many regions of NC. This image was taken in October 2012, the day before Hurricane Sandy swept through the Carolinas on its way to devastate the northeastern coastal regions.

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa.

The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. Although cultivated since antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin that so lowered the cost of production that led to its widespread use, and it is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today.

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April 12th, 2013

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