#6 - BAMBOO AND COTTON

 

Cotton

        We don’t know exactly where cotton originated, but it was originally processed by hand. It wasn’t until the early 18th century that the process became automated by machine. The process takes the cotton from the field and puts it into bale form. Cotton takes about 5 months to grow. Then, cotton pickers are used to harvest the fluffy part of the cotton off the plant. They are then turned into a module, which is a large rectangular prism of cotton fluff. The cotton gin is used to remove any sticks, burrs, seeds, etc. Cotton is then put through a machine with a hot box that mixes seed cotton with hot air to make the moisture evaporate. This makes the cotton easier to clean. The cotton is then tossed against a screen that separates the clumps. This also helps loose debris to fall through the screen openings. It is then divided equally into two processing lines and goes into a burr machine, which shakes off the large debris. Gin stands separate the seeds from the lint. The cottonseed can be sold for livestock feed, especially for dairy cows. It can also be milled into cottonseed oil, which is used in cooking products. The lint is formed into bales using a trapper. A sample is collected from each bale and is bagged and labeled with the bale number. The samples are then submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture to analyze their fiber length, strength, cleanliness, etc. The cotton is then rated based on these qualities. 

Cotton is used in more than just clothes. It is also used for home furnishings, food products, livestock feed, toothpaste, ice cream, paper money, and more. Cotton farming is done in the southern part of the United States. As cotton farming has increased, research has been done to attempt to prevent pests and other aspects that harm cotton production. Cotton has a 5-6 month growing season. The plant begins to emerge within 2 weeks of being planted. After about a month, small flower buds are formed, called squares. 3 weeks after this, creamy white blossoms form. These blossoms turn pink and then red before they fall off. What is left over becomes the cotton bulb, which opens 2 months after bloom. As the cotton bulb opens, air is let inside to dry out the white fiber. Cotton is machine harvested by either stripper harvesters or spindle pickers. 

One Step Further

For my One Step Further, I wanted to learn more about the cotton gin and how it transformed the cotton production process. The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. This machine revolutionized the cotton production process because the cotton seeds could be extracted from the fiber so much faster. The machine is actually believed to have been invented by Catherine Greene, but Eli Whitney is the one who built and patented it. “Gin” in cotton gin came from the word engine. The first cotton gins were either hand-cranked or powered by a horse. Eli Whitney’s hand-cranked cotton gin could remove the seeds from about 50 pounds of cotton per day. The cotton gin was later powered by a steam engine. Cotton fiber and seeds were separated in the gin, and then the fiber was pressed into 480-pound bales to be sold. Although the cotton gin greatly improved the cotton process, it also greatly strengthened slavery in the South. 

References:

Cotton: Field to Fabric [Video]. (2015, August 25). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hoHvN289Xs

History.com Editors. (2025, May 28). Cotton gin and Eli Whitney. History. https://www.history.com/articles/cotton-gin-and-eli-whitney

How Cotton is Processed in Factories | How It’s Made [Video]. (2019, April 5). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHgNoSYlhYs

Extra Credit Link:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxQLFr9XR-8

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSIeXf9Stqc

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhQImwqT_T0