Which device separated cotton seeds from the cotton fiber?

• A. Spinning Jenny
• B. Jacquard loom
• C. Power loom
• D. Cotton gin

Answer: (D)

Separating seeds from cotton fiber is a preprocessing step that must be done before spinning. The device that accomplishes this is the cotton gin, which uses a rotating cylinder with sharp teeth to grab the cotton and pull the fibers away from the seeds while a grate or screen ejects the seeds. The fibers pass through for further processing, making the cleaning quick and efficient. This simple machine dramatically increased how quickly cotton could be prepared, changing the scale of cotton production. Other textile machines like the spinning Jenny, Jacquard loom, and power loom are used to convert fiber into yarn or fabric, not to remove seeds, so they don’t perform this function.