San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-03-02
THE COTTON SEED.
An Unexpected Industry Which hhr'eh'hs
Southern Planters.

Atlanta COTtStIuteo's "AfS"
and varied value Of the cotton produc'
ton in the South: -,
Suppose we start the new year with a
romance? All right, here goes-ihe
Romance of Cotton Seed In the law
,sh and careless days of slavery cotton
was raised for its lint alone. This was
swept off the snowy surface OF t1e heiu
and the rest was wasted. Under the
pressure of poverty the South learned
that it was just as foolish TO raise sneep
for the fleece as to raise cotton SUNK
for lint, and that the heavy seed from
which the fiber lowered was Just as
valuable as the mutton from which the
wool grew. The story of the slow but
snro wav IN which the despised seed
grew into appreciation is an interesting
one. involving enormous hgures ana
illustrating the progress that Is oeihs
made in the South.
MAKING CRUDE OIL FROM SEED
A year or two ago ! wrote letter
concerning certain mills that had been
established for the purpose OF pressing
the oil out OF cotton seed. Inc process
was then rough one. and the OIL pro,
duced of interior grade. The bulk OF
seed from which the oil had been taken
was made into cakes and sold Tor stock
food or fertilizer. There were then
about sixteen seedoil mills in the
South. Cotton seed was worth 30
ton, and the oil 80 cents gallon;
There are now sixty-sevcn seed.ol
mills, and the price of cotton SEED mas
been doubled, being now about 9lZ
ton. This increase Of So per ton Tor
cotton adds about So to every paie
of cotton raised by farmers who sell
their seed, as each bale represents
half ton of seed. The mills take 80
gallons of oil from every ton ana sell IL
ut 40 cents a gallon. Thus they take
S14 of wealth from each ton OF seed,
and the dry bulk left is better 1000 OF
fertilizer than it was before the OIL was
taken out. The 70 mills WORKED up
$50, 900 tons last year, stripping OUT
- 500 600 worth of oil that had PREV
ously been wasted, and paying the
farmers nearly 100000 more Tor the
seed than the same seed would nave
brought three years ago. This business
is increasing very rapidly, new mills
being built every year.
REFINING THE CRUDE OIL.
But another step has been taken IN
the handling of cotton, and mills have
been established for the purpose OF re-
fning cotton-seed oil, and thus lncreas-
ing its value. Oil that has been re-
fined is worth from IS cents to 81
Gallon. while crude oil is worth only oo,
SO that the refining process adds about
5O ner cent. and makes the oil OF one
ton of seed worth about $22. or one
fourth the value of the cotton that the
seed produced. There are nine OF these
refineries now in operation. One OF
them, in Montgomery, retines loo par
rels or five thousand gallons gay,
thus adding one thousand two hundreo
and fifty dollars every day to the value
Of the product it handles. The other
mills average perhaps fifty barrels a
dav each. making five hundred barrels
a day for the total; thus creating value
Of over six thousand dollars every
twenty. four hours and adding it to
heretofore despised product, Ihe ousi-
ness is increasing rapidly. The Prohts
are large, and next year will see the re-
fning capacity doubled perhaps. The
mills now running sell all they can
make. and could sell ten times as much.
England and France would take the
nro3uct of one hundred retinerles at
present prices. Indeed, most OF the
mills sell their yearly product by con-
tract A late suit developed that an
English company had deposited thirty
thousand dollars in Memphis as oonus
to secure the output OF one OIL fennery
for one season.
SUBSTITUTE FOR LARD.
Tn the meantime the refners are Gre
otino a new market and better de-
mond for their oil. 1t is used largely
= an illuminating oil, being the best
for headlights and rehectors; IT. Is used
as an adulteration of linseed OIL, ana is
pronounced by painters pretsraole TO
Iinseed itself. 1t is used almost en-
tirely for packing fish, and especially
sora;nes. in America, and it is used as
snbstituts for lard in cooking. 1t IS
MADE into what is called cotton butter,
and in this shape is rapidly suppianting
lard. Two pieces. of steak fried, one
With oil and the other with lard, can
no. be told apart. For bread it is
nerfect substitute for lard, and for bat
ter breads it is much better. In egg
bread it fills the place of eggs. In TACT,
in the kitchen it is cleanller, heaitnler'
and better than lard. If the testimony
Of housekeepers can be taken. 1t j.
much cheaper. A pound of cotton but,
raw will do tho cooking of pound and
a half of lard, and costs only 10 cents,
ubiIe lard is worth sixteen to twenty