♪♪
Narrator: THE EXACT ORIGINS
OF THE COTTON PLANT ARE UNKNOWN,
ALTHOUGH ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE
UNEARTHED PIECES OF COTTON CLOTH
OVER 7,000 YEARS OLD.
THROUGH THE CENTURIES,
COTTON FIBER WAS TRADITIONALLY
PROCESSED BY HAND
UNTIL THE EARLY 18th CENTURY,
WHEN THE FIRST AUTOMATED
PROCESSING MACHINE WAS INVENTED.
BEFORE COTTON ARRIVES
AT THE TEXTILE MILL
TO BE SPUN INTO THREAD
AND WOVEN INTO FABRIC,
IT MAKES THE JOURNEY FROM FIELD
TO BALE.
COTTON TAKES ABOUT FIVE MONTHS
TO GROW FROM A PLANTED SEED
TO A RIPE PLANT.
THIS HARVESTING MACHINE,
CALLED A COTTON PICKER,
PLUCKS FLUFFY SEED COTTON
OUT OF THE PLANT'S BOLL,
LEAVING A TRAIL OF BURRS
AND STICKS BEHIND.
THE MACHINE EMPTIES
THE PLUCKED COTTON
INTO A TRACTOR-DRAWN BUGGY.
THIS MACHINE BUILDS
THE SEED COTTON
INTO A HUMONGOUS RECTANGULAR
BLOCK CALLED A MODULE.
A TRUCK TRANSPORTS THE MODULE
TO THE PROCESSING PLANT,
KNOWN AS A COTTON GIN.
ONCE THE COTTON ARRIVES
TO THE PROCESSING PLANT,
STICKS AND BURRS ARE REMOVED
AS WELL AS ANY LINGERING DEBRIS
AND SEEDS.
A TRUCK DUMPS THE MODULE
INTO A FEEDER,
WHICH MOVES THE PACKED
SEED COTTON INTO A DISPENSER.
THE GROUND SEED COTTON FALLS
ONTO A CONVEYOR BELT,
WHICH LEADS TO THE HOT BOX.
THE HOT BOX MIXES
THE SEED COTTON WITH HOT AIR,
WHICH ALLOWS THE MOISTURE
TO EVAPORATE,
MAKING THE SEED COTTON
EASIER TO CLEAN.
A MACHINE CALLED THE WAD BUSTER
BREAKS UP THE CLUMPS
OF SEED COTTON
BY TOSSING IT AGAINST A SCREEN.
LOOSE DEBRIS FALLS THROUGH
THE SCREEN OPENINGS
DOWN A NARROW CHUTE.
THEN THE SEED COTTON MOVES
THROUGH A MACHINE
CALLED THE STEADY FLOW,
WHICH DIVIDES IT EQUALLY
BETWEEN TWO PROCESSING LINES.
ON EACH LINE, THE SEED COTTON
ENTERS A BURR MACHINE,
WHICH GRABS THE SEED COTTON
WITH A CIRCULAR SAW
AND SWINGS IT
AGAINST METAL BARS.
THE CENTRIFUGAL FORCE SHAKES OFF
THE HEAVIER DEBRIS.
THE SEED COTTON EXITS
THE MACHINE
THROUGH ONE PIPE
AND THE DEBRIS THROUGH ANOTHER.
A LARGE AUGER TRANSFERS
THE DEBRIS TO A WASTE CHUTE
AND OUT OF THE PLANT.
THE SEED COTTON IS READY FOR
THE FINAL STAGE OF PROCESSING.
A NETWORK OF PIPES
FEEDS A ROW OF MACHINES
CALLED GIN STANDS.
THE GIN STAND SEPARATES THE SEED
FROM THE FLUFFY STUFF,
CALLED THE LINT.
INSIDE EACH STAND
ARE 116 CIRCULAR SAWS,
WHICH ARE ARRANGED HORIZONTALLY,
EACH SEPARATED BY A STEEL RIB.
THE SAW TEETH GRAB THE
SEED COTTON AND PULL THE LINT
THROUGH THE NARROW GAP
BETWEEN SAW AND RIB.
THE SEEDS ARE TOO LARGE
TO PASS THROUGH,
SO IT SPINS IN FRONT OF THE RIB,
THEN DROPS INTO A CONVEYOR.
THE LINT GOES INTO A FLUE,
WHICH LEADS TO THE PACKING AREA.
COTTON SEED IS SOLD
AS LIVESTOCK FEED,
PARTICULARLY FOR DAIRY COWS.
IT CONTAINS 23% PROTEIN,
20% FAT, AND 25% FIBER.
COTTON SEED IS ALSO MILLED
INTO COTTON SEED OIL,
A COOKING OIL
THAT'S A COMMON INGREDIENT
IN SALAD DRESSINGS
AND MAYONNAISE.
THE COTTON LINT IS NOW READY
TO BE FORMED INTO BALES.
PIPES FEED THE LOOSE LINT
TO THE PRESS AREA.
WHEN IT ARRIVES,
A PUSHER MOVES THE LINT
INTO A MACHINE
CALLED THE TRAMPER,
WHICH SHOVES IT DOWN
INTO A BALE-SHAPED BOX.
ONCE THE BOX REACHES 500 POUNDS
OF COTTON LINT,
A PRESS COMPACTS THE LINT...
...AND TIE-WRAPS THE BALE.
♪♪
♪♪
NEXT, A CONVEYOR MOVES THE BALE
TO A BAGGING MACHINE
AND PAST GRIPPERS, WHICH PULL
A SAMPLE FROM EACH SIDE.
♪♪
WHILE THE BALE SLIDES
INTO A PROTECTIVE PLASTIC BAG,
THE GRIPPERS DEPOSIT THE SAMPLE
INTO A BIN.
TECHNICIANS LABEL THE BALE
WITH AN I.D. NUMBER,
THEN OPEN THE BIN TO RETRIEVE
THE CORRESPONDING SAMPLE.
THEN THE SAMPLE IS BAGGED
AND LABELED
WITH THE BALE I.D. NUMBER.
THE FACTORY SUBMITS THE SAMPLE
TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE,
WHERE IT'S ANALYZED
FOR FIBER LENGTH, CLEANLINESS,
COLOR, AND OTHER CRITERIA.
ONCE THE ANALYSIS IS COMPLETE,
THE BALE IS GIVEN A GRADE
AND PROCESSED ACCORDINGLY.
