Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1894-04-20
ROMANCE OF COTTON SEED.
ONCE DESPISED, 1T NOW DIVIDES
KING COTTON'S THRONE.
Formerly Cast Away as Refuse, All
But the Dirt is Now Utilized-Its
Many Uses.

rOrmerly CaSU away as RefuSe, All
But the Dirt is Now Utilized-Its
Many Uses.
~ ONE of the most marvellous
~ and thrilling romances are
y such as pertain to actual bus
mess life, and recount the
achievements of wonderful men, even
along purely financial lines. For in
stance, the pen of master might be
worthily employed in writing the ro-
nance of the cotton seed. There is a
rebellion in the family of King Cot
ton. A few years ago he held undis-
puted sway and his youngest son, Cot
ton Seed, was considered a very insig
nifcant and comparatively worthless
member of the family, his only merit
being his ability to propagate the
royal stock. Now it is quite different,
as the youngster has developed unsus-
pected good qualities, and is making
rapid progress toward displacing his
father in the affections of the people.
Five years ago, when the Southern
planter gathered his cotton and sold
it, he paid very little attention to the
seed. He saved enough of it to raise
his next years crop, and, if convent
ent, kept few bushels more to feed
the milk COWS around his farm. Some
times he carted off few wagon loads
to dump on an old field as fertilizer,
and often he refused to haul it away
from the gin at all. The amount that
rotted around such places was im-
"A
monty brought five cents bushel, pro-
vided the farmer was not ashamed of
taking anything for such commo-
dity. Even three years ago, in many
sections of the South, eight cents for
a bushel of cotton seed was considered
good price. This year the price was
often as high as twenty-five cents and
occasionally reached thirty-two. When
cotton itself sells at six cents or seven
cents per pound and seed at the prices
mentioned the farmers begin to feel as
if they would like their cotton to be
all seed. AS it is, the seed not un-
frequently constitutes one-fourth or
even one-third the value of the whole
crop. So important matter has it
become that to-day one single com
pany-the American Cotton Oil Com
pany-has $40, 900, 900 invested in
handling cotton seed products.
The seeds themselves are of an ir-
regular oval shape, measuring perhaps
quarter of an inch in their greatest
diameter They are unprepossessing
looking little bodies, and are covered
with short white, hairy-looking fibres.
These last are cotton staples that the
gin has not picked quite clean. A
Northern man might have difficulty in
guessing what the seeds are. Bite one
of them in two and you find white,
pulpy substance, tasteless and nearly
odorless. How so many products and
such different ones can be gotten out of
such q seemingly simple body is mys-
terry Perhaps nowhere else do we find
so fully illustrated the principle of util-
izing waste products. Not single
particle of seed goes to waste. When
ton comes to the mill, the thirty ytive
gallons of oil extracted from it weigh
about 272 pounds and sell for about
twenty-seven cents gallon. There
are $50 pounds of hulls, worth ST
ton: 750 pounds of wool, Mt $40
tom twenty pounds of linters cotton,
at three cents n pound, and about los
pounds of dirt, for which there can
hardly be said to be any real market.
Cotton seed men are said to lie awake
at night trying to devise some plan to
utilize this dirt, but mp to date it con
tinues one item that has proven too
much for their ingenuity. If the
reader will do an addition sum of
these figures he will see that every
pound in the ton is accounted for; if
he will figure little further he will
find that between $40 and $50 is real
lied on each ton handled. When the
raw materials costs $l5, he can Judge /
whether or not it is likely that just at
the present juneture the mills are
making much money.
The uses TO which cotton seed prod /
ucts are put are almost innumerable. /
The oil itself is used in making soap, /
other oils, lard, butterine and eount- /
less other things. We ship immense /
quantities to Europe especially Rot
terdam and bring II back again .
sllgutly fettncu uuutI Ahc hHihN ht /
olive oil and linseed oil The Armour
and other pork men use large amounts
in putting up lard Cottoine Is the
name of u new product nov coming
into use as competitor of lard. Many
use the oil itself instead
Df lard aud claim 10 like il. The meal
after tho oil has been eX-
Iracted is fed 10 cattle, and H. said a.
produce excellent result The hulls
are also fed 10 cattle. Twenty pounds
81 hulls and ten of meal make nll
laily feed for beef steers, aud she
'attle are ready Tor market iu ninety
lays The hulls, furthermore, are
iow being used IA manufacturing pa
,er. Emil Bohn. of Brcuham, feNas
las invented process Tor so using
hem. aud his ideas may cause com
'lete revolution VA tho paper trade.
The OH ia It's crude stste is 4 clear,
eddish,brown liquid that looks not
lnlike substance frequently esrrci
" men IA iiaaks Ia their hip pockets
I has peculiar oils taste aud yrry
sell assertIRn klnd of
dor II one may Judge irpH ihe
dor, eotion saci oll is capable af tak
AZ earu at itaelf Asst Hllilf Ffuduef