The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-11-05
SEPARATING SEED FROM COTTON
Cotton Seed Cake and its Value The Lint
Hulls, Soap Stock and Glycerine.
From the Tradesman.

Previous to 1855, cotton seed had nc
commercial value whatever. Its oleagl-
nous character had been recognized
and schemes suggested by which the
oil could be removed from the seed; but
all these proved wild chimerical pro-
jects, resulting in disaster and loss.
The first practical attempt at extract
ing the oil from the cotton seed was
made at Natchez in 1884. The gentle
men who were in the enterprise were
Cooper and Plummer of Georgia, Fallet
of Virginia, and Miller Of Kentucky.
The machinery of this mill was OF the
rudest kind, the pressure necessary to
extract the oil from the seed being OBJ
tained by means of wedges. The re-
suit was disastrous failure, all those
engaged in the enterprise being ruined
by it.
In 1852 the matter was taken up IN
New Orleans, Messrs. William Wilbur
and Frederick Goode ibeing the pio-
| neers in the new movement. Their
! mill was adecided improvement on the
Natchez one and succeeded in turning
out good character Of crude oil which
was afterwards clarified and refined.
The New Orleans mill also turned out
oil cake for the first time and converted
the refuse into soap. This enterprise,
although apparently we'll managed,
was also unsuccessful financially and
those engaged in it lost heavily, How
ever, the experiment demonstrated
very clearly that a good quality of oil
could be extracted from the cotton seed,
and the industry was cultivated and
encouraged from that time. In 1855,
the manufacture Of cotton seed oil was
taken in hand by c. w. Bradbury, and
despite many disadvantages, including
the lack of capital, was carried by him
to financial success. Messrs. Pauline
Martin, F. w. Fisk. Paul Aldige and
A. A. Maginnis should also be men
toned as among the fathers of the cot
ton seed oil industry of the South,
having all operated, and successfully
TOO, in the manufacture of cotton seed
| oil before the war. That gigantic
struggle closed the New Orleans mills
for the very sufficient reason that there
was no seed to crus> but with peace
they opened again.
| INCREASE OF MILLS.
Since then, the industry has pro-
qressed rapidly, as follows:
1866, mills in the country, 8 ofthem
in New Orleans.
1870, 26 mills, 3 in New Orleans. y
1880, As mills, 6 in New Orleans.
In 1860, Louisiana turned out $780,
600 of products, New York $76,5OO,
Rhode Island $4,000 and Tennessee
| S20O,0OO.
| In 1870, New Orleans stood third in
| the list, Providence, Rhode Island,
yielding $5OO,Oo0 Of cotton seed ilpro-
ducts, Memphis S360,0o0 and New Or
leans $685., 500. The total number Of
establishments then in existence III this
country was 2s, employing 664 hands,
paying out $292,032 in wages, using
Sl,333,63l of materials and producing
S2,205, 0lO of oil ce.ke: etc.
In 1880 the number of mills and their
products had increased to As, with 8
capital of s. ,s62, 800, 1919 hands, $780,
s36 paid in wages, S., ,091 ,251 of material
used and production ofs7, $685. 92l. The
| cotton seed oil industry bad more than
trebled in ten years.
By this time, 1880, the industry was
on sure and profitable basis; indeed,
it has never been quite as profitable
since. The business was not overdone
then. There were not too many mills
and consequent contest over seed.
The mills divided the South equita-
bly, among themselves and got all the
seed they wanted at fair prices. They
had no difficulty in disposing of their
product which was rapidly coming
into favor as an adulterant for olive oil
and millions Of gallons of it were ship
ped to France and Italy to be rechris-
tened, and come back here as olive oil,
worth twice the price it left our shores.
During these earlier days the oil mills
coined money, and dividends Of 25 and
40 per cent. were not uncommon. The
industry was largely concentrated at
certain points, New Orleans, memphis,
st. Louis, Cincinnati, Providence and
New York. It will be noted that a
large percentage Of the Southern cotton
seed crop was crushed and manufac-
tured into oil cake, etc., in the North.
From 1880 to the present day, the
industry has been in a very exciting
condition, with frequent changes and
fluctuations although always advancing
and improving. The mills continued
to multiply until they became too
numerous. Seed war followed and as
high as Sl9a ton was paid for seed, a
price at which there was no possibility OF
profit, as it made the cost Of converting
the seed into oil S25 more than all the
products would sell for.
THE COTTON SEED OIL TRUST.
The American Cotton Seed Oil Trust
appeared in the field and it looked at
first as though that great corporation
would swallow the industry just as the
Standard Oil Trust began buying mills
right and left, paying for them in it:
own certificates until it had secured fCi
ly two-thirds of the largest mills in the
country, and practically controlled
Tho tr,,ct for tin,n