Norwich bulletin., 1921-08-25

| Norwich Rotary ciub was held at the | Wauregan hotel On Wednesday, The | luncheon was served in the parlor of | the hotel owing to a large gathering of l out Of town members of the State Poul- | try association which was held in the 1 large dining hall of the hotel
 Charles J Twist was in charge of the talk on the cotton industry both as 1t is n1anufactured and as 1t is grown. MT. Twist in his talk said:
 The importance of cotton in civilized life today is probably but vaguely real ized by the majority of people. In this country we consume raw cotton at the rate of about twenty-six pounds per capita each year, which if translated to yards of cloth and other fabric, would make a strip longer than the distance from the to the moon, and a yard wide all the way
 One of the best Illustrations of the importance of this fibre can be found in the plight of Germany during the re- cent war. In spite of her accumulated stores of cotton and her domestic pro- ductien of wool, hemp and flax, in spite of the fact that considerable cotton filt- cred through in the early months of the blockade, her population at the end of four years were wearing clothes of pa per. Tableclothes, napkins, towels, sheets, underwear, hoisery and many | other fabrics usually made of cotton were practically unootainable. Band l ages and surgical dressings were made or 1 paper; gun-cotton had to be replaced 1 with "Ersatz,' as did sail cloth, tire | duck, and nun5erless other comnodi- l ties
 will cover very briefly few of the
 essential outlines of the story of the cot l Ehra hot f0raOOinO Q
 sections of the subject may be better
 understood.
 The word cotton" is said to be de 1 rsved from an Arabic word, "Qutun," :" | originally meaning flax; and the botan-
 ical name of the plant 'Gossypium," !" ] signifying the heese worn, was nrst 1 found in the writings of Pliny' and is
 derived from the Sanskrit
 The cotton pant belongs to the nal l low family and is native of the tropics.
 The genus has a great many botanical
 varieties, all of which in the wild staate,
 are perennial but under cultivation tend
 to become annual
 Tn all the cultivated species the plant
 attains a height of about two feet. The
 leaves vary, but all have characteristic
 lobes, whether grown in the southern
 part of the states or in the foreign
 cotton producing countries. The blos- sons Also vGry a good deal in color, but
 have this in common that the seeds are contained in a pod or boil which is
 filled with floss not unlike that oi common n1ilk-weed.
 In due time the boil burts, exposing the mass of fluffy fibre from which the plant derives it's extraordinary value The superiority of cotton over other vegetable flores, such as hemp or fax
 is in the natural twist, which make: : ! l. ;ob. a da1 a SnianinR. Tle single fibre consists of a hollow tube l having transverse joints at irregular in ] tervals, and this tube, when dry, has
 tendency to hatten out and curl. The
 more of this natural elaeticity found 1T
 the fibre the better it Is for spinning
 purposes and an immature fibre IS foi
 this reason unsatisfactory. Cotton Is ex . ceedingly susceptible to moisture ant : q succession of violent atmespheri changes will cause such rapid con | traction and expansion in its fibre as u : destroy it's elasticity From the poin , l of view N the manufacturer there i ! little difference between immature cot 5 ton and that which has suffered loss o vitality. Besides yielding 2 natural fihr : from which a tremendous number a products are derived the seed of tn e plant gives forth a highly useful vege $ table oil, and the stems and leaves ar used for fodder
 There is much history in connection c with this subject which is of interes ,. to those having to deal with Kin . Cotton" but I will omit the same il l. order not to take your time at thi s meeting. It might, however, be of in 1 terest to learn that cotton is grown i t Egypt, India, China, Mexico, n parts Q q Central and South America as well as i t the south and western states of thi e country and in almost every section C r. the world where conditions are right 10 l. the growth of this important plant. l. The cultivation is another part of tn e industry which has much to do wit
 this subject but must at this time D
 passed. There are several grades an ! staples and no doubt little should h o said in this direction in order that yo l. pet some idea of the terms used in s; n Iecting the cotton for certain require ments.
 le The classification of cotton into tt n standard grades fixed by the governner s constitutes an exceedingly difficult ar Id There Is absolutely no mechanical ba. 1T is. and the classification is purely re Id atye one. The kind of plant has T c, bearing, whatsoever, nor has the lengi g or strength of staple. It is really tn distinction based upon the condition 'h the cotton, rather than upon Its 1nnerel h. The grade 'rniddling'' is the bas V. upon which the market values or Il 7, other grades are quoted There are eig al full grades, viz. fair, mddling fair, goo r. middling, middling, low middling, go' 'i- ordinary ordinary and low ordinary T- Between these full grades are U or half grades, known as the strlcts, al Is, some classers use quarter grades, b ly as these are not so commonly used it's wifi not concern ourselves now. III nd grades and half grades are quoted I n, whites, tinges, and stains. 4 stain nd a heavy discoloration while a tinge tn a lighter hue, and partial discoloratior
 known as spots are permissible in t h. lower grades of whites.
 n, It Is obvious that in this classifc IT. tion the human element plays gre ,ir part, The difference between quart
 grades, or even half grades or betwe
 a tinge and a stain, are subject to
 great variety of interpretations
 Aside from the grade there are t 4 other qualifications which are of eqt oa importance to the manufacturer: lens ,.e and strength. Lengths are quoted ls' eights of an inch and cotton under lo- Is inchs is termed short, while u m over 1 IS inches is long. The norm lengths run from s-4 to l 7-S men
 and where a normal difference betwe . C' grades would be 25 points, the difereT lie of 1-s inch would be about 250 poin "a One of the mills prerequisites ice strength and elasticity, and this last icK usually tested by a cotton buyer Ind connressing sample in the hand al see if it will return to it's origil
 shape, Strength of staple may be fou 'an by breaking & sample after drawing an am pie.
 ne- The buying of cotton and the netht weed an +kn avcIa 1ez far seIIinc WIi III