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.
The State of Georgia gave him a tract of land.
General Greene lived with his family upon this land.
He at last died there.
Mrs. Greene was very lonely.
She went to the North to visit her friends.
On her voyage home she met a pleasant gentleman.
He was a young man, only twenty-seven years of age.
He, too, was going to Georgia.
His name was Eli Whitney.
And now you must know something of his story.
Eli Whitney was born in Ma.s.sachusetts in 1765.
His people were farmers.
They were not rich people.
Eli"s father had a workshop.
In this shop he worked upon rainy days.
He made wheels and chairs.
Eli grew up like other farm boys.
He helped on the farm.
He attended the district school.
He took care of the cattle and horses.
But very early in his life he became fond of tools.
He used to creep into his father"s shop.
He could scarcely wait to be old enough to use the tools there.
One of the interesting tools was a lathe for turning chair posts.
His father allowed him the use of all these as soon as he was large enough to take care of them.
After that, he was always at work at something.
He liked work in the shop much more than work upon the farm.