The cotton industry flourished in Texas after the Civil War until the 1920's. It flourished because there was massive immigration from the deep south and Europe, the removal of natives from prime growing areas, the invention of a new plow that easily broke the sod (soil), the invention of barbed wire, and the expansion of the railroad. The invention of cotton ginning (removing seeds from the cotton) and compressing cotton at the railroad for easier shipping also helped the industry to flourish until the 1920's. In the 1920's the demand for cotton went down due to the Great Depression and loss of workers due to World War II.