Pima cotton is a type of cotton grown primarily in the United State's Southwest. It is considered to be one of the superior blends of cotton, and is extremely durable and absorbent. Pima cotton is named after the Pima Native Americans who first cultivated the plant in the US, but its origins date back to its cultivation in Egypt.
Ok, I'm going to bed now. But I thought the origin of Pima cotton was interesting. Pima cotton from O'Odham (Pima) This word originated in United States
Some of the finest cotton in the world bears the name of the Pima Indians of Arizona. But it is a twentieth-century development rather than an ancient tribal tradition. Early in this century the U.S. Department of Agriculture was developing new varieties of Extra-Long-Staple cotton at its experimental farm at Sacaton, south of Tempe in the Gila River Indian Reservation. Pima Indians cultivated the experimental crops of what was then called American-Egyptian cotton. Wanting a new name, the USDA designated the ELS cotton Pima in honor of the Pima workers. The first Pima cotton released by USDA was the "Yuma" variety in 1908.
Pima cotton traces its genetic ancestry to the famed cotton cultivated on the Sea Islands of South Carolina as early as the 1790s. This was interbred with varieties from Egypt to develop the Pima. Improvements in Pima cotton have continued since its introduction. "The real breakthrough came in 1951 when a seed was developed and introduced that produced an ELS cotton with superior fiber properties, luster and silkiness ... as well as an unusually high yield," says the Supima Association, a trade group. "Subsequent variety releases in the 1970s, 80s and 90s included Pima S-5, S-6 and S-7, all of which boasted higher yields and better spinning characteristics."
The Pima Indians of southern Arizona speak a language that has been known as Papago-Pima, although they now prefer to call it O'Odham and to refer to themselves as the Tohono O'Odham Nation. Of their total population of about
20,000, more than half are said to be fluent in the language. It belongs to the Sonoran branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Aside from this use of the name Pima, no other words of O'Odham have been imported into English.
Hee hee!! I think Ill try that Pat.!
How about the next time you see someone wearing a cotton top, asking them if it's Pima Cotton? :-)
breakthrough
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