Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-01-18
Cotton Seed Oil Mills.

Every neighbOrhOod of cotton planters
could have its own cotton gin and cotton
seed oil mill, and thus save all losses now
incurred by giving the seed to have the
cotton ginned, or giving the oil to have the
seed turned into meal for stock food ami
fertilizers. The impression prevails
among farmers, we believe, that the ma
chinery is too costly and the oil mill bust
ness too intricate and difficult for unskilled
hands to manage, and hence little or no
effort is made by neighbOrhOods to become
independent in this respect. The follow
ing extract from correspondence of j. w.
Cardwell & Co., of Richmond, Va, in the
Charleston NelvS and Courier, will correct
the errors prevailing on the subject:
An DILL mill, suitable for a public gin
house, would consist of one heavy hydrau-
lie press Cor two of them, according as
YOU would desire, to work up two tons OF
seed per day of twelve hours each, or four
tons J, the force pump necessary to run
the presses, one huller, one pair of rolls
to crush the seed into meal after being
hulled, instead of grinding it, as burrs
would gum }, one iacketed steamer to cook
the meal in after it is crushed.
The seed are put through the huller,
which has a separating attachment to
clean the kernel, then the meal or kernel
is put through the crushing rolls and then
into the steamer. The meal is cooked at
times. varying from 30 to 80 minutes, with
the steam i'm the steamer at pressure OF
20 to 81 pounds. The meal is then put into
bags of somewhat unusual shape, this in
turn is put into ''mat'' or "bOOk" to con-
fine the meal and keep it from bursting
the bags when under pressure; the whole
is then put under the hydraulic press and
given a heavy pressure. The oil then APP
pears-crude oil. The meal, after the oil
is expressed, is in the form of cake and
is s'cOtton seed oil cake" This is all there
is i'm it.
In ton of seed there are about 36 gal
Ions of oil, somewhat less in the spring
when seed have dried out considerably.
About /. 100 pounds of meal to the ton is
usually obtained, including the oil, or be-
fore pressing. The balance, say 900
pounds. is hulls. Both the meal and the
huls are a magnificent fertilizer, as the
oil is detrimental to the extent that 1t pre-
vents whole seed from rOtting for so long,
and the meal has more than twice the
body Discern for feed after the oil is taken
from it.
Crude oil is worth at the mill from 45 cents
TO As cents per gallon, with a constant up
ward tendency, as new uses are being
found for the oil and the producers sell 1t
to the refineries, number of which are in
the country and are glad to buy of any
one.
The cake is worth $27 to $50 per ton. ]
know prominent fertilizer manufacturer
who now regularly uses cotton seed meal
in his product and it has splendid reputa-
ton.
In reference to horse power necessary
to run it. have one running now by 10
horse engine, which runs in addition, at
the same time. one 80, one 40 saw gin,
cotton press and corn mill. With all
these it can run the Huller pump and
crushers. They can be arranged to run
by man and boy, assuming the owner
has an engineer.
| have endeavOred to answer, i'll brief,
the questions your correspondent asks,
and the information, in connection with
what will give regarding the cost, about
covers the whole thing. A two ton mill
will cost 81, 800, on board cars at factory,
and four ton mill $4,000.
There is no mystery about making cot
ton seed oil; it is very easily learned, and
1 stand ready to back my assertion with
substance that with the above mill as
much oil can be gotten from a ton of seed,
and gotten as quickly, as with the large
mills, and the proportion of machinery
considered, the product of the mill will
be just as much as the large ones.
1t is only question of very short time
when there will be these small mills all
over the country and they will get the
neighbOrhOOd seed, and then where will
the large $4,000 TO 800, 900 mills be? Men
now spend $1,000 or more for an engine,
gin, press, ETC., and get 81 bale. BY in
Vesting 81, 900 more they can get about 80
a bale-that is, get that IWIch from the seed
oil and meal-Of a bale.