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The Existence of Daily Growth-Rings in the Cell Wall of Cotton Hairs
The Existence of Daily Growth-Rings in the Cell Wall of Cotton Hairs
Article · 17 pages
A 1919 research paper by W. Lawrence Balls reporting that the cell wall of cotton seed-hairs (lint and fuzz) is built of concentric layers, each representing one day's growth. Swelling the hairs with carbon disulphide and sodium hydroxide makes the layers visible, and counts on Egyptian cotton fruits of known age (9 to 50 days) match the expected 25 rings in mature lint. The paper covers the method, microscope setup, counts for each stage, an anomalous hair with a double wall, and conclusions. Line drawings and micrographs on plates 14-16 illustrate the rings.

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