Fortunes in Agriculture 205 



cottonseed. This down is called linters and is almost pure cel- 

 lulose. It is used to produce rayon, plastics for fountain pens 

 and automobile safety glass, moving-picture film, and explo- 

 sives. Cotton stalks can be used for wallboard. Cottonseed oil 

 is converted into vegetable shortening, margarine, and salad 

 oil. 



Cottonleather 



Cottonleather, a heavy, woven cotton fabric impregnated 

 with a plastic binder, has been developed by the Southern 

 Friction Materials Company, near Charlotte, North Carolina. 

 This tan-colored material is as hard, but also as flexible, as 

 sole leather. The small plant rolled out the Cottonleather at 

 the rate of a mile in four hours. When this output did not 

 meet the demand, the company began licensing large manu- 

 facturers to produce Cottonleather. The Bigelow-Sanford 

 Carpet Co., Inc., also announced the development of a syn- 

 thetic outer sole for shoes which it said would give 50 per 

 cent more "mileage" than leather. It is made of tightly woven 

 cotton treated under pressure with a synthetic resin to in- 

 crease resistance to abrasion, heat, and moisture. Bigelow- 

 Sanford believes the new product will become a permanent 

 factor in the shoe industry. 



Cotton Fire Hose 



Cotton technologists in one of the four Regional Research 

 Laboratories of the United States Department of Agriculture 

 have found new uses for cotton cloth and yarn. Until re- 

 cently all sandbags for military uses were made from jute or 

 burlap, imported from India. Department of Agriculture re- 

 search workers developed specially treated cotton fabrics that 

 are satisfactory for sandbag purposes. These men also have 



