King Cotton (1949)

[Music] so [Music] cotton is king but there was a day when few people believed that cotton would have as many uses as it does in today's world cotton has been known for many hundreds of years but it was not usable on a large scale until the beginning of the 19th century in 1781 a new england farm boy named eli whitney was beginning to make a name for himself as a manufacturer of hat pins for ladies bonnets a few years later young eli set his fingers to a harder task getting the seeds out of cotton for thousands of years the only way to separate cotton seeds from cotton fibers had been to pull out the seeds by hand a slow costly tedious task in 10 days whitney developed the model of a machine that was to revolutionize the cotton industry the cotton gin was a simple device but it took the seeds out of cotton and that was what the south had been waiting for some of the southern states voted whitney a royalty for his invention but he had to spend most of his money to defend his rights in marketing the new cotton gin those who had started to emigrate from the south in search of a better opportunity learned of the new machine and took new hope the value of cotton land trouble overnight all over the world the impact of this simple invention was felt almost immediately eli whitney put together a few boards and rollers and gave the world a giant industry cotton was king never before had anyone removed seeds from cotton so quickly and easily and surely never had anyone dreamed that a machine could do so much here was an invention that did in a few minutes the work that took a pioneers family a whole evening to do by hand as they sat around the fire here in a small wooden box was all that was needed to demonstrate the value of cotton as a world crop the principles employed in whitney's first machine have been retained in the modern cotton gin inside the gin the cotton falls through the hopper and hits a grid where it comes into the path of revolving teeth the teeth grab the fibers and pull them through the narrow openings of the grid the seeds are larger than the openings they can't pass through they fall to the floor the fibers are swept off the revolving saw teeth and out of the gin the modern gin seems much different certainly much larger than the experimental gins of whitney's day but the real difference lies not in the principle used to take out the seeds but in the fact that new machinery has been added to clean the cotton and carry a large amount of cotton through the gin it is here in the generator that all the work in the cotton fields comes to a focus all the time and labor expended by the southern cotton farmer reaches its climax in the two great products of the cotton world cotton fibers and cotton seeds the valuable seeds emerge from the gin fall into a trough and are drawn away by suction the seeds are still not entirely free from cotton they're covered with a white fuzz known as cotton linters linters removed from the seeds in a later operation are used in many basic cotton products of great importance the seeds are likewise storehouses of the wealth of the south each year brings new uses cotton seeds for various oils for tar phonograph records cosmetics and foods today more than three score products are made from cotton seed so that the cotton can be handled conveniently it must be made more compact and tied into a package or bale as the jinned cotton collects it is mechanically packed until enough has accumulated to make a 500 pound pack the heavy pressure which is then applied produces good bales that are compact and uniform in size almost completely covered with sturdy bagging iron bands wrapped tightly around the bale make sure king cotton can travel securely if need be to the ends of the earth on the cotton plantations today modern science and modern farm machinery play an important part work that formerly required days or weeks of sweating toil is now handled with ease and efficiency in a very short time early in the year plows drawn by light but powerful modern tractors break the soil to a depth of three to eight inches preparing acres of land quickly and easily for the good crops of cotton to come after the danger of frost is over and the land has been warmed by the spring sun up to the minute multiple role planning machines move swiftly over the fields a far cry from the once common and laborious method of dropping the seed by hand all through the growing season modern cultivators roll through the fields of cotton plants destroying weeds and grass loosening the soil to let in air allowing water to penetrate to the roots of the growing plants today science as well as modern engineering has entered the cotton industry and along with science come the trained men of modern agriculture men who have studied cotton for years in the laboratory in state experimental stations and in the field these experts know the characteristics of the climate and the many kinds of cotton growing soil in the vast region of the south they know the peculiarities of the numerous varieties of cotton plants they have found new fertilizers that get better yields from average lands new ways for farmers to grow better quality cotton with longer tougher fibers scientific research in all these fields goes hand in hand with the big job of protecting cotton from its enemies from diseases of the cotton plant from dreaded insect pests foremost among the ravaging insects is the mexican bull weevil which first crossed the rio grande into texas in 1892 and has since spread over nearly all of the american cotton belt if not controlled the boll weevil can wipe out millions of acres of cotton in a single year controlling the spread of this insect by dusting fields from the air is the most spectacular and frequently the most successful method before the plants are fully developed just as soon as the weevil begins to appear on the squares or bracts that protect the immature flower the modern farmer enlists the aid of the most modern methods in his attack in a matter of minutes the dust poisonous to the bowl weevil spreads in long white plumes over acres of cotton the up-to-date way of fighting this most stubborn invader of king cotton's domain [Music] as a result of careful and scientific cotton farming today the united states supplies the world with almost one half of all the cotton it consumes from thousands of fields come millions of bales the product of hundreds of thousands of men product of the soil of the south product of science and american invention product of america in the fall of each year on the coasts of the atlantic and the pacific on the gulf of mexico on the banks of the mississippi king cotton starts his journey to the ports of the world king cotton ruler of a huge industry at home and abroad cotton for the spindles of the world world progress calls to cotton for textiles cotton for clothing cotton for fabrics yes but for more than that much more the world calls for cotton for many unseen uses in virtually every industry surprising for instance is the tremendously important role that cotton plays in the manufacture of tires for modern automobiles everybody thinks of them as rubber tires but it would be just as correct if these pneumatic cushions were called cotton tires for actually fifty percent of all the material that goes into the making of an automobile tire is cotton long before the tire assumes its familiar shape yard upon yard of tough cotton fibers have been spun and twisted into cords then woven into still tougher fabrics fabrics that ensure long life and resistance to wear compounded rubber heated to just the exact temperature is then blended with the cotton fabric coating it until together the materials form a kind of rubberized cloth this exacting operation where in cotton and rubber each become part of a new fabric is called calendaring and the materials are prepared with the greatest precision rubber compounds and cotton and a tire begins to take form on the building drum great care is taken to ensure the exact position of the cords in the rubberized fabric it is cut on the bias to give greater strength then another layer another ply but at this time the cords must be at right angles to the first layer so again it is cut on the bias thus additional reinforcement unseen protection is built into the tire with cotton after several layers have been carefully placed the plies are trimmed and molded under the watchful eyes and skilled hands of men who are masters at their trade the raw tire expertly constructed is next placed in a steel mold that not only gives it the tread design but a complete curing as well under terrific heat and tremendous pressure vulcanization takes place the tire is toughened to a final degree indifferent now to heat to cold to all the elements it has emerged ready to take its place to play its important part of furnishing comfort on the wheels of the modern motor car rubber compounds cotton again cotton for comfort this time for comfort inside the motor car layer upon layer of thick fluffy cotton blankets are formed into deep soft paddings for the luxuriously comfortable seats king cotton modern science has developed hundreds of new uses for cotton within the past few years for instance when scientifically treated with special gases and liquids cotton can be transformed into beautiful durable and valuable plastics today plastics made from cotton are used to make the sparkling striking interior appointments in the up-to-date automobile plastics for the steering wheel horn button the gearshift control beauty to be sure but a very practical beauty a handsome gift of cotton cotton makes still another valuable contribution to appearance in the motoring age again through the magic of science of chemistry cotton yields a treasure called cellulose cellulose to form a basic element in modern lacquer a lacquer that is even more weather resistant than the metal it coats and protects the short linters of cotton contain cellulose in its purest form first the oil is removed from the cotton linters then the fibers are washed mixed with chemicals and stirred stirred and heated heated and cooled then mixed again with still more chemicals at last the solution is ready to receive the pure rich pigments that are mixed in rotating drums cotton becomes lacquer a beautifully glossy and rugged product built to stand up under every adverse condition not many years ago it took six full tedious weeks to apply the 22 coats of paints and varnishes that were required to properly surface the automobile body but here again science science and cotton have united to simplify this by producing lacquer that is faster drying longer lasting smoother harder and more durable and easier to apply with this matchless product of cotton and chemicals skilled workmen create the brilliant magnificence that is the protective surface coating for the motor car of today here is cotton cotton for splendor another of the contributions king cotton makes to the motor industry cotton for the modern motorist cotton in the fabric of the upholstery cotton in the plastic parts cotton in the glossy lacquer cotton in the rolling tires comfort luxury and durability cotton but in the great universities and technical laboratories of the south diligent scientists continue to experiment to hunt to search and to research for still new uses for king cotton each day new discoveries are made and yet this is only the beginning science and cotton making possible the building of vast new industries challenging the unknown discovering making revolutionary improvements in the working and living conditions of our day approximately 50 pounds of cotton in various forms are used in creating the modern motor car cotton for beauty comfort and durability today cotton serves mankind's retail markets in more than ten thousand different forms cotton for fountain pens and steering wheels cotton for fishing tackle and tires cotton for artificial sponges cotton for shoes cotton for lacquers cotton for airplanes cotton worthy to be called king truly a servant of mankind [Music] you

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Id: dmEvyk48dBU

Length: 16min 10sec (970 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 20 2022