The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1896-11-25
Cotton Seed Industry in the
South.

y
South.
The magnificent opportunities
which exist at the South for the max
ing and buildings of homes by immi.
grants, for the profitable investment
of capital, and the practical appllca'
ton of the arts and sciences, are now
80 well kncwn to reading and OBJ
servant men that it is almost a waste
of time to call attention to detailed
conditions in the South.
If any one is skeptical on the sub
ject. he need only look at the small
population per square mile, the fer
tility of the lands, the climate. the
small cost of living, and the numer-
GUS natural advantages ard resources
of the South to see that condition
must necessarily exist there more
favorable for comfortable living fol-
the frugal and industrious poor, for
accumulation of wealth for the intel
ligent small capitalist, and for the
doubling of fortunes for those al
ready wealthy, than in any other
part OF the United States today
Instead of dealing, therefore, with
the general subject. I wish to give
practical illustration of one OF the
lines of future development of the
South, which is characteristically
Southern with which l happen to be
very familiar from long business
connection.
In short, / wish to point out where
practically inexhaustible source OF
wealth exists in a product of which
the general public outside the South
knows almost nothing | allude to
what is familiarly known in the South
by the name of cotton seed hulIs
The name itself belittles the charac-
ter aud value of the product to such
an extent that one is almost tempted
to turn away from it in disappoint-
ment, without investigation, on sim
ply hearing it mentioned.
s.Hulls" is term we associate in
our minds with husks, or the outer
covering of some valuable nut, fruit,
or grain, which serves the purpose
nature intended it for. of protecting
and preserving the kernel. but which
in itself. for al! purpose of commerce,
is worthless
While such in part is the dedni
tion, such is not the character Of
.cotton seed holls.'' 1t bears more
the relation of bran to wheat than of
husk to kernel but even this de-
scription is not adequate for the
hull of the cotton seed both in
weight and value bears much more
important relation to the kernel of
the seed than bran does to wheat
The hull comprises IS to so per
cent. of the weight of the seed As
turned out by the oil mills, this ar
ticle consists of little capsules. more
or less broken up, of which the outer
or convex part cansists of a closely
adhering short cotton fiber, compris-
ing about 25 to 3S 1.3 per cent of
che weight and the inner, or con
cave part. of a tough, dark brown
shell of mucilaginous matter resem-
bling the covering OF apple seeds
This is not quite.all, for these fiber.
covered aud broken capsule capture
and retain, during the oil mill pro
,cesses of hu!ling and separation.
however well performed. portion of
the kernels in finely divided state
The proportion of the kernel thus
caught, and forming real portion of
the hulls as marketed, varies from
! l-2 to 5 per cent. aud is rich in
oil and heterogeneous matter.
In the dry, loose and somewhat
matted condition in which the hulls
are usually seen, they present very
unpromising appearance, but years Of
experience have demonstrated con
clusively that they form aperfect and
.entire feed for cattle 1t is only for
the purpose of RAPIDLY tattening cat
tie that other more highly concen
trated feed stuffs. generally cotton
seed meal. are added to the hulIs.
There are now annually crushed"
in the oil mills Of the South about
1900, 600 tons OF cotton seed. giving
a product of hulis of about CTS 0O
to 100000 tons There are annually
grown and passed through power
gins. to sbtain the 100000 to 10,
000. 600 bales of cotton which are an
nuaIly marketed, and additional
quantity of 100000 to 3,50o,oOO
tons of cotton seed which are not as
yet hauled out to the oil mills. which
are generally located at some dis
.apce from the gins and plantations
The total seed crop is by weight
t-;oo oo oroat 90 tho cotton crnD