Research has been conducted to determine whether three alkaline buffers -- calcium hydroxide, aqueous magnesium bicarbonate and non-aqueous methoxy magnesium methyl carbonate (Wei T'o® Solution #2) -- protect cotton fabric from degradation during accelerated aging at 100°C and 100% relative humidity in air or nitrogen. The results of chemical tests as well as experimental details including the application of buffers, the accelerated aging apparatus and chemical analyses have been reported previously (see AATA 19-1482). The purpose of this paper is to report the physical changes which occurred and to relate these results to chemical changes. All three buffers provided cotton fabric with protection against the conditions encountered during accelerated aging. When accelerated aging took place in nitrogen, unbuffered cotton deteriorated at approximately the same rate as buffered cotton heated in air. This finding suggests that the lifetime of fragile museum cottons may be extended considerably simply by storing the textiles in an atmosphere of nitrogen rather than air.