The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-13
SOUTH LOSES MILLIONS
BY FAILING TO CONVERT
COTTON TO IT'S PRODUCTS
BY w. ID. NEsBrrT

Much comment has been caused
about town and among the bust
ness and industrial interests es-
pecialIy, by the address on cotton
and cotton by-products made at
last weeks Rotary club meeting
by William D. Nesbitt. president of
the Warrant Warehouse company.
and probably one of the best in
formed cotton men in the country)
I am today asked to say something
OF the beneficial effect to our section
which would be produced If we could
increase the use of lint cotton in this
country by one million bales per an
mum.
To appreciate the great potential
values of the cotton plant and its
products we must realize that the lint
is only one of the many valuable
parts of the plant and that increased
uses of and values derived from its
other parts are as possible as are the
increased uses of it's fiber.
This most remarkable plant is the
only one known that in its fiber fur
zishes satisfactory clothing for man
and at the same time in Its seed pro-
ducts provides high grade food for
plant, animal and human life. These
food values have been developed only
in the last 40 years and only in the
past Is years are beginning to be real
~ appreciated.
Cotton has been known for many
centuries. 1t was found in use upon
the discovery of Mexico and Peru; Is
believed to have been used by the an
cient Egyptians and was used by the
carly Hindus. These early peoples, how
ever, like ourselves IN the nineteenth
century, secured only small part of
the possible values. AS late as 1870 cot
ton seed was considered waste pro-
duct and prior to 1880 was burned in
large quantities and where not SO de-
stroyed was frequently fenced about
to prevent cattle and hogs being killed
by eating 1t. Think OF this enormous
waste and then bring your mind to a
close view of the present situation and
see that we are yearly sending out of
this country millions of dollars for
clothes and foodstuffs possible of be
ing supplied by this modest plant.
Though still only partially developed,
within the last 40 years the values de-
rived from these seed products have
increased from practically nothing in
1875 to more than $500. 000, 900 per an
mum, and today furnish more revenue
than the total cotton crop brought to
the south in 1875.
Take with me another close view of
the south's situation in 1850, up to
which time we had benefited only by
the values of lint cotton. At that time,
though the south had less than rs per
cent of the white population of the
United States we had accumulated tall
most entirely from the production of
cotton) more than 43 per cent OF the
total national wealth.
Practically every part of the cotton
plant Is possible of being put to some
use: The roots have medicinal prop
critics and are used in the produce
tion Of certain drugs; the inner bark
of the stalks has strong fiber and
with proper machinery can be woven
into bagging for the covering of the
bales of lint; the pods bearing the lint
clothed seed furnish clothing for mar
and acceptable food for plants. animals
and human beings: even the foliage
when dried has cattle food values equal
to corn shucks; the bloom furnishes
a supply house of sugar for the in
dustrfous bee. Cotton is the only known
fiber which is hollow and slightly
cylindrical in form and<ssupp1ied on
its outer surface with barbs or hooks.
This slight twist of the fiber accom-
/. panied by the outstanding hooks is
valuable in spinning processes and adds
greatly to the ease of manufacture
and strength of the resultant yarn.
The hollow of the fiber furnishes a
ready receptacle for dyes and makes
it easy to secure pleasing color effects
in cotton cloths.
Most of us know that cotton cloth is
produced from the lint and cotton oil
from the seed but few of us are aware
that from the residue of the oil is pro-
duced two dyes; one a golden yellow and
the other a violet blue. both quite I'M
surpassed in their brilliancy. Possibly few
of us know that cotton oil is used al
most entirely in our mining lamps and
is used largely for lubricants of all kinds
and is now entering into the manufac-
ture of paints; that the base of much