Cotton 
17 
NITED STATES 
~mmAN FACTORIES 
ACH DOT REPRESENTS 
ONE ESTABLISHMENT 
AB. 
F1G. 12. There are three points of concentration for cotton manufacturing in the United States: 
(1) New England, where the finest cloth is woven and where cloth woven elsewhere is dyed and 
inished ; (2) the region about Philadelphia, where knitting mills are most numerous; (3) the 
piedmont section at the base of the mountains of the South, where factories are near the source of 
raw material and can utilize the power from the mountain streams. 
How a favorable climate causes the cotton industry to prosper. 
Fall River is further fortunate in being so located that the prevailing 
southwest wind brings damp air from a broad expanse of ocean. 
This is of great help in spinning cotton, for the dampness prevents 
the fibers from becoming brittle and breaking constantly. Western 
England has this advantage to an even greater degree than Fall 
River, because of the prevalence of damp west winds. In good cot- 
ton mills the air is usually dampened by steam jets or fine sprays of 
water; but in dry regions it is hard to keep the air in the right condi- 
tion by artificial means, and consequently the thread often breaks, 
so that it is difficult to make good cloth. 
Climate is favorable or unfavorable in another way — it has a 
marked effect on people’s capacity to work. Fall River, like the rest