Question: I expect a visit next year from an English cousin who is particularly interested in seeing is a cotton field in bloom. Can you tell me when and where one can visit such a field? The closer to New York the better.
Answer: Cotton is grown in 17 states, from Virginia to California, with Virginia and North Carolina being the closest to New York. Planting begins as early as February, in South Texas, and as late as June in the northern area of the Cotton Belt.Seven to nine weeks after being planted creamy to dark yellow blossoms appear. Over the following three days, the blossoms gradually turn pink and fall off, leaving a tiny ovary attached to the plant. That ovary ripens and enlarges into a pod called a cotton boll. Three months later, the boll opens to reveal the cotton fiber, which is about an inch long. It is this stage that your visitor very likely has in mind, for a field of opened bolls has the fluffy appearance of newly fallen snow. In Virginia and North Carolina, the bolls usually are open for a month starting in mid-September and stay that way until harvested.
To arrange a visit to a cotton farm and, perhaps, to see a cotton gin, where the cotton is cleaned and baled for processing, contact the National Cotton Council, 1918 North Parkway, Memphis, Tenn. 38112; (901) 274-9030; fax (901) 725-0510. The council will get in touch with a field representative to set up a visit, which is free.
Question: Can you provide details about seeing villas along the Brenta River and Canal in Italy? I understand a boat service operates between Padua and Venice.
Answer: Every year, from March to early November, the 200-passenger Burchiello cruises along the Brenta Canal from Padua to Venice and back, stopping at three major villas. The canal is lined with dozens of villas, the summer residences of generations of the Venetian nobility.
The Burchiello leaves from Padua and Venice on alternate days. In 1997, visitors in Padua will meet at the office of Siamic Express, which runs the cruise, in front of the main bus terminal. A bus will take them to the town of Stra to visit the Villa Nazionale, better known as the Villa Pisani, the grandest of all the villas on the Brenta.
After pausing at the lock in Dolo, the Burchiello docks at Oriago, where lunch may be taken at the Burchiello restaurant on the canal's banks. In the afternoon, visitors go to the Villa Gradenigo, a 16th-century villa decorated in part by Benedetto Caliari, brother of Paolo Caliari, better known as Il Veronese.
The last stop is the Villa Foscari, also known as the Villa della Malcontenta, one of the finest examples of Palladio's small country mansions. It was built in about 1571 for Nicola and Alvise Foscari. Legend has it that the villa takes its name from the wife of one of the Foscari who was displeased at being confined to the villa. It is more likely that malcontenta refers to the Brenta River's being poorly contained because its banks in that area were so low that it overflowed regularly. The frescoes inside are by Giovanni Battista Zelotti and Battista Franco, two local 16th-century masters.
The Burchiello then heads into the Venetian lagoon, docking at the gardens of the Piazza San Marco.
The boat from Padua to Venice departs at 8:15 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, arriving at 6 p.m. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, it departs Venice at 8:30 a.m., arriving in Padua at 6:50 p.m.
Tickets cost $78 a person or $41 for accompanied children aged 6 to 17. The charge for dining in Oriago is $27.35 a person. Information: Siamic Express, 42 Via Trieste, 35121 Padova, Italy; (39-49) 660944 or fax (39-49) 662830. Reservations are advisable.