Text 5994, 84 rader
Skriven 2006-09-28 21:44:12 av Barbara McNay (1:382/48)
   Kommentar till text 5963 av hap newsom (1:275/311)
Ärende: Cotten picking
======================
 > Hey barbara!

 >->  >->  > I've picked cotton (the very worst job ever), onions,
 >->  >->  > strawberries, beans,
 >->  >->  > blueberries, cucumbers, raspberries, daffodils and
 >->  >->  > tulips. All are hard jobs on
 >->  >->  > the best days and pay is entirely based on what you
 >->  >->  > bring to the scale.
 >->  >->  > chat with you soon
 >->  >->
 >->  >-> My picking has been limited to the small home garden, so, tell me,
 > why is
 >->  >-> picking cotton the worst cotton pickin' job ever?
 >->  >->
 >->  > First it was because it was on my grandfather's farm
 >->  > and therefore I was
 >->  > expected to set a good example for everyone else.
 >->  > Second, cotton bolls burst
 >->  > open and have sharp, dry, very pointy husks, you have
 >->  > to be VERY careful
 >->  > not to cut yourself to ribbons when you pick, you
 >->  > can't use gloves because
 >->  > they don't let you "grip" the cotton to pull it out of
 >->  > the boll. Third you can't
 >->
 >-> Sounds nasty.  I'd guess you couldn't pick it before the bolls hardened an
 > d
 >-> burst because the cotton perhaps wouldn't be mature in some manner?
 > Too much
 >-> moisture?  I'm reminded of when I was a child, we picked milkweed pods
 > for life
 >-> vests for WWII before the pods opened and dispersed their contents.

 > Nope you pick when the cotton is ready...and fully
 > opened and fairly dry. You
 > have to be careful because if you get cut it stains
 > the cotton and makes it
 > worthless.

Sounds like good reasons "cotton pickin'" became such a well-known epithet!

 >->
 >->  > stand up and reach the bolls...you have to be bent
 >->  > over all the way...and
 >->
 >-> Are these short plants, or do the bolls drop?  I thought they were relativ
 > es
 > of
 >-> okra, and okra plants I grew were at least five feet tall.
 >->
 > The plants are about 3 feet tall and the cotton bolls
 > are spread out over the
 > top 75% or so....which means you are gonna be bent
 > over all day unless you
 > are a dwarf or a fidget.

 >->  > finally the cotton bag you put your picked cotton in
 >->  > is usually about 15 feet
 >->  > long and it gets heavier and more awkward to control
 >->  > as it gets full.
 >->
 >-> Yes, that would, and I'd guess you'd have to watch out you didn't cut
 > yourself
 >-> on husks stuck in it.

 > Nope you pick the cotton out of the husk, no husk goes
 > into the sack, only

OK, I was assuming that some of the husks would fall to the ground.

 > cotton and cotton seeds (which are almost impossible
 > to get out of the
 > cotton by hand). The one good memory I have of cotton
 > season is when I
 > was too young to pick and got to ride on my mom's sack
 > as she dragged it up
 > and down the rows....not unitl I began picking my own
 > did I realize what a
 > bummer that must have been for her! (grin)

Heheh!  Well, at least she knew where you were.

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 * Origin: T E X A S ! (1:382/48)