The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-08-28
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE SOUTH FOR HOGS.
With the Aid of Cotton Seed as Feed tn
Prospect is Elvsian.

west although we can proftably raise |
of corn for feeding our horses |
and making our bread. But when it |
comes to raising hogs on scale ade-
quate to our needs and possibilities in |
this direction, we must look elsewhere |
for pork-making material than to the
corn-feld. The plum thicket, grass
pasture, peach and apple orchards, pea
field and sweet potato patch, have all
been noticed; and while each and all OF
them are most excellent in them
selves for feeding and fattening hogs,
still cotton seed is destined to soon as
sumo the place of prime Importance as
the feed of the Southern hog, just as
corn is the great standard Il might say
exclusive) food of the Western hog. The
flesh of the hog fed exclusively on In
dian corn has been denominated con
centrated maize" and it is not so good
and wholesome as that of the hog that
has variety of foods.
The great popularity of what is called
''Old Virginia ham" and bacon is well
known. Its excellence 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 allowed them.
But to cotton seed Edward Atkin
son predicts that the time will come
when the seed from bale of cotton will
be worth as much as the lint. While
such statement now seems astound-
ing, when bale of cotton is worth,
say, forty-fve dollars and the seed from
it about three or four dollars; yet 1t
only remains for some ingenious in
ventor to make cotton harvester that
will pick cotton in order to bring about
a fulfllment of this prediction. Such
cotton harvester, it is confidently as
serted, has been devised. If it has, it
will not be long in proving its merits.
If it has not yet come, it will come be-
fore many years. When the minds Of the
inventors of this great American Ma
ton set to work on a problem of this
sort, it will be accomplished before their
efforts cease. We may be confident, there
fore, that the successful cotton harvest
er is an assured fact, if not now actual
ly accomplished, soon to be. This ma
the amount of cotton raised, and CORE
spondingly decrease its price. While
the price of the lint will be decreased,
it is not probable that the price of seed
will. 1t is more likely that the seed
will appreciate in value, for the reason
that so much more use will be found for
them than formerly, and than even at
this time.
In one respect cotton seed is like India
rubber. It is constantly finding new
fields of usefulness. Prior to the dis
covery of Goodyear's process of harden
ing India rubber, that article had COM
paratively few uses. Since the inven-
ton of vulcanized caoutchouc or hard
ened rubber, its uses have become
legion.
A similar history attends the seed of
the cotton plant. In former years it
was regarded as little less than nui-
.ance. 1t was thrown out in great heaps
1 to rot and waste. Finally its fertilizing
properties began to be recognized; in a
small degree, however, for the seed was
:otted before being applied to the land,
thus wasting large amount of its fer
ility before being used. By and by it
vas discovered that cattle and hogs
loved the seed, but hogs died from eat
/ ng it. Cattle were fed on it, but it was
discovered that the milk had an un-
! pleasant taste and the butter was white
and puffy. Up to the close of the war,
cotton seed had hardly quotable value.
| Finally some genius, do not know who,
| unfortunately, discovered that the ker-
mel of the cotton seed was rich in val.
liable oil, similar to inseed oil, and
useful for great many purposes.
Science was not long in discovering the
wonderful amount of potash contained
in the ash of the hull. and the great
feeding and fertilizing value of the oil.
cake foreground into meaD after the oil
was extracted. The much-neglected
cotton-seed began to be regarded by the
farmer as of some value after all; but i
is questionable if the price he has beer
receiving at the oil-mills has paid hin
as we'll as the use to which he ooult
have put his seed on the farm.
At present the seed product of thu
cotton-crop of the South is valued chiefly
for the cotton-oil, the cotton meal TO
feeding cattle and manuring land, ant
the hull ash for manure.
As most valuable hog ration, cbtto,
meal has measurably been overlooked
yet for this purpose it is equally valua
bic as for cattle feed.
But it remained for farmer of th,
goober State, Mr. G. j. Green, Of Toe
COO, Ca, to make the discovery tina
roasted cotton seed is one of the YER
best and cheapest hog feeds Southern
farmer can get. Like many valuabl
discoveries, it was the result Of acct
dent. Mr.. Green had a buildint
burned down some years ago, in whicl
were stored several hundred bushels @
cotton-seed. ''Mueh of it." SAYS he
was burned, but large amount of i
was only fairly roasted. Icould not kee
the hogs from it, and they seemed yer
fond of the roasted seed, although wa
told that it would surely kill them. Blu
it did not; the hogs throve on it an
came up at Christmas time as fat an
fine as any Of my neighbors' hogs tina
L. - l.