Washington telegraph., 1856-06-18
From the Netr Orleans Picayunc
Use ofthe Refuse of the Cotton Crop.

Tor the purpose of manufacturing rope aud
yarn from the fbres of the bark of the cot
ton plant The terms of the charter of the
manufacturing company, leaves it open to
them to devote their attention to other
branches of manufacture also; and it would
appear peculiarly y fitting that they should
enter upon such as may spring from sour
ces So closely allied to-nay to certaiu
extent identical with-that TO which
they have particularly resolved on attend
Ing. We would therefore Invite their at
ientIon TO the enormous revenue which it Is
alleged, upon apparently conclusive grounds,
may be netted from produce of the cotton
plant at presept thrown away as refuse
Mr.. Edgar Conkling. of Cincinnati. IA
vOrs us with communication on the sub
Iject, in which be says:
81 am satisfied that the value of cotton
seed fibre, of oil that may be made from
the seed for burning, lubricating and per-
haps painting and for soaps. OF The refuse
cake for distilling feeding cattle and hogs.
manure. and even for gas, is equal in value
annually TO that of the cotton crop IL is a
subject [ have given good deal of attention
TO. Soap may be made directly from the
seed by boiling 1t In the alkalies; oils may
be extracted IN a pure state, with full
yield and free of coioring matter, without
the costly method of compression; aud when
extracted the seed may be distilled. as il
has the essential properties, containing III
PEI cent of grape sugar, thus displacing 81
much grain OF use for food. The railroad
Office of this city lights its Office. from gas
made from cotton seed cake. TIE seed
itself is richer for the purpose.
No one item of residue, going to waste
in this country, will compare in utility and
value to cotton seed and, with little at
tention ON the part of those Interested aud
capable of approaching it. the South in Il
few years may reap City millions annually of
net receipts from working it up a recent
number Of the Scientific American saws
that when cotton sold for six cents Der
pound, large amount of it was used for
making paper. The waste cotton fibre is
equally as good for this purpose, and cAn be
secured by the use of machinery, as support
ed by me in the May number OF the Ten
nessee Farmer and Mechanic, In paper,
oils and soap, the South can thus beat the
world in quality and value, if it choose.
The Railroad Record, OF Cincinnati.
calculates that Of the whole produce of the
plant, there are 3,T33, 900. eco pounds at
present lost in eiuDiDg and bailing the
crop, and that one-ihird Of this. or Alb
200, 900 pounds. consists Of fibre suitable
for paper making. Estimating the value
of this to be the same as that of the cheap
est rags in the market, it would produce, in
the raw state, SI4,932, 600 Manufactu-
ring it into paper would realize revenue
of at least S60,0O0,000, So much for the
fibre.
The seed, according 10 the same journal
produces as Mr- Conkl:ng says, one of the
most valuable oils, both for Illuminating
and lubrieating purposes, ranking in both
respects equal TO sperm OIL The prcpor-
ton it yields is said to be so per cent,
and the 20 per cent, residue is all good oil
cake. The total quantity of seed being q
239 100000 pounds. the oil produced
would amount to 67I,940,000 pounds.
Estimating the value per pound OF the oil
to be not more than that of the cheapesr
grease, it would be worth s67, l94. 900.
and valuing the cake at one half the rate
at which other oil cake sells, that would be
worth 81, ,S39 800.
Here, then. estimating values at extrav-
agan;ly low rates, we have a revenue OF
si35, 100000 literally being thrown away
yearly. Allow that one half of it-a pre-
posterously large proportion-sh be
swallowed up III the course of manufacture.
and still there would be sixty-Gve millions
and hall left for net profit.
The Manufacturing Company have al
ready directed their attention to yet an
other product of the plant. as We commenc-
ed by remarking, but it appears that this,
too, is extremely valuable for paper ma
king purposes, as well as for those to which
they appear more particularly intending to
direct it, We would invite their attention
as well as that of our readers generally, to
the su ubjoined remarks from the New York
Day Book. on this point:
Specimens of the bark stripped from cot
ton stalks have been exhibited to paper
manufacturers at the Nortk. AID were con-
sidered equal to good rags worth six cents
per pound, or about S120 per ton, and
were pronounced the best substitute for
rags of any raw material known to the
| trade.
The magnitude ofthe paper business may
be conceived when We take into considera-
ton that there are 750 paper mills in the
United States employing 1000 engines.
and which produce annually at 10 cents per
pound, S27 900, 900 worth of paper. 20
manufacture tuis amount of paper requires
4O5. 900 600 pounds of rags, IA pound of
rags being necessary to produce | pound of
paper. The value of the rags at the ave
rage of4 cents per pound. amounts to sl6.-
100000, to which, if the cost of making
them into paper. including "a cents to
each pound of paper in labor. with wastage.
chemicals, &c. be added, would swell the
cost to S23 .625 900 to produce s2I .000,
900 of paper. leavining net profits on the
total man fracture of So, 3,375,000 For the
year ending the 3Oth June, 1855. we i'm
ported 40O.O73, SIG pounds Of rags. from
twenty-six different countries. Of this
amount Tuscany. in Italy. supplied l 4.0OO,'