The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1882-02-08
Cotton Seed Mills.
The Floridn Anricultnrfst.


Editor Of The Florida Agriculturist:
There is heap of difference be-
tween running an orange grove and
running a Cotton Seed Oil mill still
from youth to old age one cannot see
the future. have had ten years ex
perience in the latter, and but one
year in the former. The manutac-
turing of cotton seed oil was first
started by man from the State OF
Connecticut, who was travelling to
New Orleans on one Of the Mississ>
ippi river steamers. At a landing some
seed was being taken on board to be
used for planting further down the
river, as change of seed is a benefit
to the crop; the man took some seed
and cut it. and taking out the kernel
squeezed it on his nails and saw the
oil; the thought struck him quick, SO
he had some sent home and making
wooden press, he mashed the seed
and putting it ir cloth pressed the
oil out by lever. From this comes
the business of to-day, showing an
investment OF ten million dollars,
and giving employment TO four thous-
and people. The best presses are
those made by w. Taylor & Sons,
Brooklyn, N. Y, as are also the
Huller, Rollers, etc. Cotton seed is
put up in four bushel gunny bags.
The seed IS solicited by seed agents,
and all boats carry the bags to the
planter with the understanding that
they shall have the freight back. They
are hauled to mill and weighed on a
platform scale, and then taken to the
seed shed and there emptyed
out SO as to give the mill the use OF
the sacks. The seed shed for a ten
stand mill is generally 200xlOO feet;
in it are elevators into which the
seed is shoveled, and is elevated to
fall on TO conveyor, which will
carry it to sand screen; this screen
is 6xl0 feet with q worm in it which
will carry it to end, and drop it into
a conveyor that carries it to the Lln-
ters. These are similar to gin stand,
but have one hundred saws and ribs,
closer and finer, and have float in
the bust that holds the seed in until
it is Tinted, when it drops on an end
less belt and is carried 10 conveyor
which drops it on an apron leading
to the huller. The huller is in two
pieces, concave and cylinder. The
concave has twenty four knives in it
set 1x3, the cylinder twelve knives;
all the knives are 27 inches long, and
it makes eleven hundred revolutions
per minute. In this the seed is all
cut and tails into screen that sep
arates the kernel from the hull, the
hulls dropping. on AN apron, slide
down to the furnace and are used for
fuel, no other fuel ever being used,
unless the mill sells the hulls to dairy
men for feeding their COWS upon.
The ashes from the furnace are
sometimes barreled up and sold for
fertilizer, or mixed with oil meal for
the same purpose. Some put it up
and leach it and then boil down the
lye water, and use the lye in making
up their soap stock. We will now
return to the kernel which is taken
from conveyor and elevated into a
bin and from there falls into Taylor's
triple set OF rollers, which brings it
out like tissue paper; from hele it
goes into the heaters, and is heated
just enough to break the globules of
oil. After heating a few minutes it
is drawn off into woolen bags, these
are placed into hair mats, and then
showed into the press and the pumps
put on; twelve TO fifteen minutes
must elapse before the press is turned
loose. The oil coming out behind,
falls into cutters and is run off into
tanks. The cake is thrown by the
pressman on table which is GRABBED
up by a cake striper, striped and
piled up to dry, and in a few days II
not ground into meal, is packed and
shipped to Europe, the oil barreled
and sent to market.
There is, you see, in this business
no waste OF any part Of the seed.
The nil in COTTON seed ia snow white,