abandon - to leave - give up entirely

bale - a large quantity of cotton that is packed tightly for shipping and storage

barges - a long flat bottom boat used for carrying freight

batting - layers of cotton used for lining quilts or for stuffing or packing

bobbins - what a spool of yarn or thread is wound around

boll - the seed pod of the cotton plant

climates - the kind of weather a place has

colonist - people who leave their own country to settle in a another land

co-op - is a marketing cooperative. It is grower owned, meaning that the growers "own" the company and profits are distributed to the growers based on the amount and quality of cotton that the grower produced that year.

cotton gin - a place that removes the cotton seed from the cotton lint

classed - the way cotton is graded

defoliate - to be stripped of leaves

domestic - inside the United States

fibers - long pieces of material that can be spun or woven

foreign - a country other than the United States

granary - a place or building were grain is stored

harvested - the gathering of crops

herbicides - chemicals used to kill weeds

industrial products - goods made in large quantities by people and machines that work together

internal combustion engine - a motor that gets its power from an explosion that happens inside the motor itself

irrigate - to supply the crops with water from a canal or a well

mechanization - it's something that is done by machine rather than hand

merchant - a person or business that sells goods for profit

nutrients - ingredients that promote growth

patented - sole right to make, sell, or use a new invention

pesticides - chemicals used to kill bugs

plantation - a large farm or estate

plow - plowing - to cut, lift and turn over the soil

prairie - flat land covered with grass

sickle - a tool with a curved blade on a short handle used by the Egyptians to cut wheat

slub - a machine used to draw out and twist lightly the cotton threads

soil - the ground, the earth

species - a group of related living things that have characteristics in common

spun - cotton lint that has been pulled into long threads and turned quickly.

stalks - the main stem of a plant

textile mill - a fabric making business

threshing - to separate the grain from the wheat

winnowing - to get rid of the chaff by blowing it with air

yield - the amount produced or grown