The Opelousas courier., 1882-10-21
The Planters, Journal tells the

The Planters Journal tells the
planters of the South that it is
costly carelessness for them to
lose two-ifths Of the cotton seed
oil in the process of extracting
it. In a ton of seed, says the
Journal, there are 60 gallons of
cotton seed oil, distributed as
follows: Obtained from the ker-
mel by the mill, IS gallons ; re-
naming in the cake, 20 per cent
of it's weight, say 10 gallons /;
remaining in the hulls, 6 gall
Ions. All the oil left in the
bulls is lost, while that in the
cake is sold at $3.50 per ton.
A plan to avoid this loss is sug-
gested by Professor Hilyard, of
the University of Mississippi.
1t is simply to crush the seed,
cover them with benzine until
it has thoroughly leached them,
and then separate the benzine
from the oil, which can be easily
done in a still. This process is
in vogue in Europe to extract
fats from old bones, and it's
cost is very slight. This sys-
ten enables every planter to
make his own oil, will increase
the value of the seed and will
not impoverish the soil as sell
ing the cotton seed does. The
value. of the seed in the soil is
in the hulls and cake and not in
the oil. The loss of the oil, it is
claimed, does not affect in the
least the fertility of the land.-
Exchange.
The comet which continues to
show itself early every morning,
is all the talk in scientific circles
in this country and Europe at
present, and our celestial visi-
tant is being regarded with
considerable apprehension. Mr..
Richard A. Proctor, who has
written much upon the subject,
and who denied that it was the
comet of 1843 and 1880, now
finds that he made a mistake in
his calculations, and SO has with
drawn his statement. More
cautious astronomers than he
have no doubt of the identity
of the comet, and believe that
it will return at the latest in Oc-
tober, 1883, and then fall into
the SUM-. This. seems to be the
opinion Of the most eminent
scientists of the day, Mr.. O.
Piazzi Smith, the clever, if &C.
centric, Astronomer Royal of
Scotland, in particular having
made no secret of his belief
N. 0. States, IL.
-p@@-----
It will be gratifying to all to
learn that the question of re-
building the Bonnet Care levee
hes been most satisfactorily set
tied. Through the liberality and
enterprise of the Mississippi Val
Railroad Company work will
begin and be completed without
delay. Upon the assurance of
the Governor tnat $4,000 will
be Appropriated out of the levee
fund of 1883, in addition to the
sum of $4,000 already appro-
priated out~ef the revenue of
1882, the RAILROAD company has
agreed to advance the nescessary
sum to close the crevasse which
has been open for the past six
years, damaging property to an
incalculable amount, to say
nothing of its disastrous effects
upon the water and fish of Lake
Pontchartrain.-N. O. States, IA.
A CoLD-B LoODED VIEW. =
Those who view the situation
from a cold blooded standpoint
say that there. is no doubt Of the
election of a Democratic House
OF Representatives by a good
round majority ; and it may be
that the political upheaval will
be more disastrous to the Re-
publicans than the celebrated
tidal wave of 1874. Speaker
Keifer can rest assured that he
will not have to preside over the
next House of Representatives.
It is no trouble now 20 get even
bets that the Democrats will
not only control the next House,
but viii elect Cleveland in New
York, Patterson in Pennsylva-
MIA and Ben Butler i'm Massachu-
setts, Indiana is counted as
0ofad far fha nnnnnro0v I