Never Dried Cotton Fibers as a Meaningful Expression of Maturity

A novel microscopical technique was used for direct measurement of the dimensions of never dried fibers, fibers swollen with water, and fibers swollen in sodium hydroxide. An extensive comparative study revealed that the original state of never dried fibers cannot be recovered when using seed cotton or bale cotton. No clear relation could be found between parameters of never dried fibers and those of fibers swollen with sodium hydroxide, so a distinction should be made between the original maturity of never dried fibers and the technological maturity of seed cotton or bale cotton fibers.