Using Absorbent Cotton Over Again 



France has not enough cotton for her wounds, so a 

 chemist invents a cotton rejuvenator to cleanse the old 



MAKING use of absorbent cotton 

 that has been soiled by a wound, no 

 matter how sterile it may become 

 by any process, seems repulsive. But, 

 to paraphrase General Sherman, war is war, 

 and a French chemist, B. Villey, has un- 

 dertaken, successfully, to supply his coun- 



Revolvirxg 

 blades 



Hopper 



try's wants. 



Impressed 

 by the huge 

 demands, the 

 demands that 

 could not be 

 met, for ab- 

 sorbent cotton 

 for wound 

 dressing, Vil- 

 ley set about 

 rejuvenating 

 absorbent 

 cotton which 

 had been used 

 and discarded. 



It was a 

 colossal task. 

 Killing the 

 germs in used 

 cotton was 

 the smallest 

 part of i t . 

 Absorbent cot- 

 ton must have 

 "life." It must 

 be springy ; 

 it must ab- 

 sorb. He de- 

 veloped one 

 type of machine to do this work, and then 

 another. Popular opinion was against 

 him. It was a long, up-hill struggle. 

 But at last he succeeded. He had won! 

 He had evolved a process for making old 

 cotton as good as new. It was fine, white 

 cotton, as springy as ever. It absorbed. 



Did the medical authorities seize upon 

 it with gushes of enthusiasm? Did they 

 hasten to pin upon him the ('roix de 

 Guerre? They did not. His proposal 

 was passed along from department to 

 department, each one withholding the 

 stamp of approval. Finally someone no- 



ticed it. The cost of rejuvenated cotton 

 was compared with the cost of new cotton 

 and found to be about three to one, in 

 favor of rejuvenated cotton. The two 

 were compared physically. Then came 

 the hoped-for gush of enthusiasm. 

 Villey's cotton rejuvenator is 

 simple. 



foiled cottorv 



quite 

 Any 

 hospital can 

 install and op- 

 erate the ma- 

 chine in a 

 modified form. 

 Many hos- 

 pitals 

 done 

 Villey 

 modestl>' 

 vou that 



have 



s o . 



will 



tell 



the 



Belt / D.^m-^ / ^ottOf^ 



corxvevor / i^eady for 



Wringer "^^^ 



Machine for Reclaiming Soiled Absorbent Cotton 



Tlie soiled cotton 13 dumped into the hopper and passes down 

 into the vat. Here it is treated with disinfectant chemicals, 

 being at the same time agitated by the revolving blades. After 

 this it is washed and is again treated, this time with soda solu- 

 tion to extract the fat and grease. Finally it is restored to its 

 original whiteness in a bath of hypochloride of lime. The clean 

 cotton is ejected on the endless belt. $1 ,000,000 is saved annually 



demand ex- 

 ceeds his 

 expectations. 



Soiled cot- 

 ton is dropped 

 down a chute 

 into a large 

 vat where it 

 undergoes 

 several treat- 

 ments. First, 

 all germs are 

 killed and all 

 poisonous 

 matter re- 

 moved by 

 chemicals and 

 washing. An 

 objectionable element still remains. This 

 is grease, or fat, which has been drawn 

 from the wound, and takes the form of a 

 sheath. It is boiled out in a solution of 

 soda. 



The mass is now whirled about by re- 

 volving blades or paddles, not unlike the 

 way dirty clothes are whirled about in a 

 washing-machine. Well washed and 



drained, the cotton is restored to its 

 original whiteness in a bath of hypo- 

 chloride of lime. Repeated washings and 

 sterilizings follow and it is at last dried. 

 The process saves $1,000,000 annually. 



iS4 



