Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-02
CoTToN.sEED OIL.

Adulterant.
There is a large market for the ara.
Gle in this city, and an establishment
where the refining process is carried
on. The oil is supplied to soapmakers,
lard retiners, bakers, confectioners,
bottlers of olive oil, paint mixers,
screw cutters, manufacturers Of putty,
butterine makers, ETC., the material
reaching the consumer through all
these and other of trade.
Special efforts have recently been made
to introduce it to the attention of
bakers, and through the grocers and
butchers to households for use in
cooking. 1t is said to be preferred by
those who use it because it is a pure
and wholesome article of food. about
which there is not, and can not be a
shadow of faint of disease of any kind;
while the hog and all other animals
are liable to cholera, trichina and
,other diseases, for which reason their
product sscarries with it the seeds of
bodily ills to the human family through.
the medium of the kitchen. 1t is
strange that the public should turn up
its nose at the article which is pure
and wholesome while willingly buying
and using it as an adulterant OF lard,
butterine and other articles used as:
food. 1t would be very different if
they only knew how much OF the lard
lis made which is put up in shining
packages and appears so white and
III, o,,,fif,,1 uhnn ,1o1aI on tho fah1n .
|Mcst of the lard sold for family con-,
sumption contains a large percentage
O. what is known in the trade as
white grease" which is generally.
renderings from hogs that have died,
Of disease. It is supposed by lard
,refiners that any traces of the
cause of death must remain I'M
the tissues or fibers of the carcass, and
that such traces can be removed by
skillful cleaning and bleaching, the oil
or fat being eliminated as pure. This
is not so. If anything could accom-
plish this result it would be total and,
complete subsistence after thorough
cleaning by chemical process. But SO
much time would be consumed by this
that it would not pay. The white
grease is often worked into lard and
sold to the consumer the same day;
while two weeks or even more is neces-
sary for complete subsistence after
that deal only in straight goods, but
there are also "reputable" firms that,
do not, but turn to account every kind
of material that will increase their.
gains, without any regard to the public
safety. -.
Bakers and other who use cotton
seed oil are as yet backward to ac-
knowledge it, chiefly owing to the
prejudice that exists in the public mind
against its use, which in turn is due to
a general knowledge of the fact that it
is sometimes employed as an adulter-
ant. But some of the most progressive
bakers and merchants are'growing more
disposed to openly proclaim that they
use the article, and to give their reasons
therefor. Of course, the principal rea-
son is the fact that the oil is economi-
cal, which should, however, be a strong
recommendation SO long as it can be
proved that the article is healthy. 1t
is estimated that for bakers use three
pounds of the oil will do the work of
four pounds of lard, while the cost at
wholesale is st present a quarter of a
cent per pound less for the former than
for the latter. This makes a saving Of
.sixty-four dollars per month to the
baker who would use ten tierces of lard
in that time. OF course, the same per-
,,centage of saving would be found by
the use of the oil in the kitchen, though
the prices paid at retail are higher than
at wholesale.
In the manufacture of high grades of
soap cotton-seed oil has no superior,
and large soap-makers use several
thousand barrels of it annually. lard
r%efiners are also heavy buyers.
Miners in the West use it almost to
the exclusion of other kinds of oil
for Illuminating purposes, as it
is n~on-eXplosive and gives q verv
good light. But its chief value will
yet be found to lie in its qualities az an
article Of human food, Us it is a builder
up and sustainer of bone and sinew. 1t
promises to be n great aid to consump-
tives and other weak constitutions. At
least one case is known where it was
used in place of cod liver oil with the
most bepeficial results.
COuUOn Secu OIL contains no less than
ninety-live per cent. of nutriment.
This statement is found in a report re-
Gently made to Parliament by the Pur-
veyor of the English army in regard to
the use of certain articles as food. He
recommended cotton seed oil as a heat
producer and substitute for other fats,
and largely as a substitute for meat.
American cotton seed oil has also
played an important part in the rapid
re%cuperation of France after her ex-
haustive war with Germany. The
French are large raisers of cereals, and
as they cost the consumer about four
tifths as much as meat, the French peo-
pie have eaten their cereals and sold
their meat, using cotton seed oil in the
place Of the latter, serving it up in
combination with preparations from
grain in the many palatable ways for
which that people are noted. Spain,
Portugal, Italy and other Southern
European countries are habitual con
sumers Of cotton seed oil, while Ger
many. England and Russia use large
quantities, mostly as food. In the
army Of the last named country it
forms a part of the regular rations,
and it has found its way even into ST.