The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-07-01
THE U FOR HOGS

tho south is cotton seed. AS a corn
country the South can never expect
m eousl the great States o. the North
west, although we can prohtaoly raise
abundance of corr for feeding our
horses and making our bread. but
when it comes to raising hogs on a
scale ADEQUATE to our needs and posi-
bilities in this direction, we nus look
elsewhere for pork-making material
than to the cora field. The plum
thicket, grass pasture, peach and ap
pie orchards, pea field and sweet pc
tato patch, have all been noticed; ana
while each and all Of them are mosI
excellent in themselves for feeding
and fattening hogs, still cotton seed IS
destined to soon assume the place OF
prime Importance as the feed OF the
Southern hog, just as corn is the great
standard q might say exclusive food
of the Western hog. The flesh If the
hog fed exclusively on Indian corn
has been denominated concentrated
maize" and it is not so good and
wholesome as that of the hog that has
a variety of foods.
The great popularity of what is
called "Old Virginia ham " and bacon
is we'll known. It's exc 5llence is IN
part due to the method Of curing but
much is also due to the variety OF
food given the hogs, and the abundant
exercise and the free range allo we'd
them.
But to cotton seed, Edward At
kinson predicts that the time will
come when the seed from a bale of
cotton will be worth as much as the
lint. While such a statement now
seems astounding, when a bale of cot.
ton is worth, say, forty,fve dollars
anG the seed from it about three or
four dollars; yet it only remains for
some ingenious inventor to make a
cotton harvester that oO1U pick cotton,
in order to bring about a fulillment
of this prediction. Such a cotton har-
vester, it is confidently asserted, has
been devised. If it has, it will not
be long improving its merits. If it
has not yet come, it will come before
many years. When the minds of the
inventors of this great American ma
ton set to work upon a problem of
this sort, it will be accomplished be-
fore their efforts cease. We may be
confident, therefore, that the success
full cotton harvester is an assured fact,
if not now actually accomplished,
soon to be. This machine will, of
course, greatly increase the amount
of cotton raised, and correspOndingly
decrease its price. While the price of
the lint will be decreased, it is not
probable that the price of seed will,
Il is more likely that he seed will ap
preciate in value, for the reason that
so much more use will be found fol-
them than formerly, and than even al
this time.
In one respect cotton seed is like
India rubber. 1t is constantly finding
new fields Of usefulness. Prior to the
discovery of Goodyear's process o
hardening India rubber, that article
had comparatively few uses. Sine
the invention of vulcanized caout
chouc or hardened rubber, its use
have become legion.
A similar history attends the seeC
of the cotton plant. In former year
it was regarded as little less than
nuisance. 1t was thrown out in grea
heaps to rot and waste. Finally it
f~ertlIlzing properties began to be rec
ognized; in a small degree, however
for the seed was rotted before bein:
applied to the land, thus wasting
large amount Of it's fertility before b.
ing used. By and by it was discoy
cred that cattle and hogs loved tn
seed, but hogs died from eating i
Cattle we're fed on it, but it was di!
covered that the mi K had an unplea'
ant taste and the butter was white an
puffy. Up to the close of the wa
cotton seed had hardly a quotabl
value. Finally some genious, [ do nc
know who, unfortunately, discovere
that the kernel of the cotton seed wa
rich in a valuable oil, similar to lii
seed oil, and useful for a great man
purposes. Science was not long i
discovering the wonderful amount
potash contained in the ash of the hui
and the great feeding and fertilizin
value of the oil cake (reground I'M
meaD after the oil was extracted. TIL
much,neglected cotton seed began
be regarded by the farmer as of son
value after all; but it is questionab
if the price he had been receiving
the oil mills has paid him as we'll
the use to which he could have put b
seed on the farm.
At present the seed product of t
cotton crop of the South is valu,
chiefly for the cotton oil, the cott'
meal for feeding cattle and manuriI
land, and the hull ash for n
AS a most valuable hog ration, C
ton meal has measurably been ovC
looked; yet for this purpose it