The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1870-06-18
COTTON.
Value Of tire Sedan Oil Facto'
nv and Spinning Factory.
NUMBER Two.
ArcHArAbXYA, June. 1870.

Mr.. Editor:
Another source from which an immense
profit may be derived, and which has here
tofore been entirely neglected by cotton
planters of the South, is the seed Of the
cotton. It has NOT however, been over
looked by the Northern manufacturers, for
I have frequently seen sacks distributed
along this river, marked the Harlem Oil
Company" and upon. enquiry have founs
that the agent of that company, a Mr.. Marks
of New Orleans, is making money rapidly
by delivering seed to the company in New
York at S22 90 per ton. The seed obtained
from a crop Of cotton mounts to about two
thirds of the crop ia the seed, which, esti-
mating the crop at 5000, 900 bales, would
yield 637,5o0 tons, which, at the price Mr..
Marks gets, would amount to over fourteen
million dollars. This shows what a value
is put on the seed by Northern manufac-
turers. But these seed, for The most part,
have been treated as refuse all over the
South, except with some exceptions where
they have been used as manure ; and then
the common system of treatment, throwing
them to rot in the weather, renders them
comparatively valueless as a ANU
That the business of converting the seed
into oil and cake is a profitable one, is EVIL
dent from the following . A company i'm Co.
4lumbia, 8. @, in their advertisement, re-
Gently issued, propose to take seed from
planters within the limits of 200 miles, fur
nish sacks and pay the freight, and allow
S. 90. per ton for seed and return the cake
after the oil is expressed, which yields
about SO lbs. to the hundred. Now, if this
is a good thing, planters ought to know it !;
and if, besides extracting a valuable oil from
the seed, they leave a valuable ~residuum
which il more available as q manure, and,
what is more important, a more valuable
article as feed for stock than corn OF corn
meal, the people ought to know it.
Mr.. Laws, the great English experimenter
in all branches of agriculture, and who is
really4,igh authority, states that manure
from stock fed on this Gil cake is fully four
times as valuable as that from stock fed on
corn meal ; and that hogs, cows and horses
thrive on it, and eat it well eittNr dry or
wet, mixed with BRAN
In the Report of the. United States Com
missioner Of Agriculture, for 1866, it is
stated that an the albuminous and flesh
forming principles, cotton seed meal far ex-
ceeds the very best English and american
Enseed cake, and We have by repeated ex-
periments proved that, for the production
of milk, it is worth just about double of
corn meal pound for pound 5 and for max
ing animals fat and glossy, it far exceeds
any other kind of food" The last quota
ton in the London price-current is "Amer-
lean cotton seed cakes are coming more into
use, and are now much sought after. Forty
five dollars Gin gold per ton would now be
readily paid for them by the cargo" So
much for the cake. But the oil obtained
from a hundred pounds of seed is Of double
the value of the cake. The crude oil OBJ
tanned is about three and a half gallons to
the one hundred pounds, which is worth
from s~eventy-fve cents to one dollar a gal
Ion; but it is generally refined and con.
yerted into a fine salad oil, which is used
for all the purposes for which olive oilsis
used, and can scarcely be distinguished
from it. And further, the refuse oil left
after Qualification is used in making soap,
| which branch itself is one Of great profit.
But | had forgot IN its proper. place to say
that the seed are first Tented by a machine,
and from two to four pounds of lint are
taken from the seed, which is worth about
ore half the price Of first lint. Summing
up all the profits Of the business, the nett
proceeds foot up about $50 90 per ton,
which. according to estimate of $780, Boo
tons, would add $$8s, 25o, 400 to the revenues
of the Southern people.
I have now in a very crude and imper.
feet manner placed the facts before the PEG.
pie Of St Landry, for their consideration
and hope that it may be the means Of ex.
citing some Of them to action. The planters
on the Atchafalaya have already made q
start in the right direction, and solicit, your
aid and cooperation in erecting . cottor
seed oil factory and a spinning factory. W.
possess greater advantages in regard to tim
Der, lumber, and access to tie interior, By
Bayou Rouge and the railroad which is nov
in progress to completion from Baton Rouge
to Alexandra; and the Atchafalaya river
both up and down, renders the location az
eligible d and well suited to test the ex
pertinent of manufacturing in Louisiana
and which 1 believe is the first attempt gu
Of the city Of New Orleans. The under
signed is acting as agent Of the company
and will 10 Id O~pelousas Id a short time fo1
the parpose Of receiving subscriptions fol
stock. JOHN j. Glow.
New Attorneys.
Tie following gentlemen were examined
| admitted and sworn, during the present SEES