Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-01-23
REFUSE OF COTTON
IT'S MADE VALUABLE IN MANY
WAYS.
ONCE WENT TO WASTE
But Now Oil and Meal are Saved and
Much Cotton is Obtained From the
Lint-Great Strides Made in the
Industry During Late Years-Many
Interesting Facts.

When cotton seed oil was first pr,
ducel in the United States it require
some tine to effect tie methods of IL
fning it so that the cotton seed lar
of today became possible. The vast
products at first were the cotton AM
seed meal and the hulls. The latte
were used for some years as a fuel
and the ashes, having high percent
age Of potash, were made use of fol
rertilizing purposes. 1t finally be
:ame known that cotton seed mea
was most excellent feed for cattle, a.
we're also cotton seed hulls, and thu:
ne waste products of the manufacture
became almost as valuable as The OF
Itself. Another saving was effected
When the seeds containing strands O.
int upon them were re-ginned. Ii
, mill Of the smallest saws, frola one
five bales of cotton are saved PEI
ay from the seed as bought
The general plan for the manufac
ure Of oil from cotton seed pursued il
outhern oil mills is that of crushin
he kernel, cooking it, and fnall,
ompressing the oil from the mea
he machinery for this purpose ha
cen SO perfected that the industr,
a well-paying one and is gradual
preading itself over the entire are
cotton producing states. The CO..
IN seed as it comes from the gi
fter being separated from the lint
brought by the cotton oil companie
from $12 to SIS per ton, freigf
pom it being anywhere from So t
l6 per ton, according to the distanc.
ansported.
Mills employing fifty men handl
bout twenty thousand tons per yea
he general plan of the factories is /
ave a long seed house with conve1
Mt railroad facilities where railroa
lrs may be brought under shelte
I'd the seed loaded on elevator belt
hich dump it in bins to a depth
ON II to Is feet. This store hous
called the seed house, and at the b
ming of the winter (the mills sh1
own for five months in the year
seed house contains a quantity
'tton seed, filling an area of fro
5x400 feet, with a depth of Is fee
n endless belt is run out over tt
ass which carries seed thrown upc
to the drag belt, and then into tt
Il, dropping it into a revolvi'
- 49, go -
from dust and dirt. The seeds are
tumbled in this screen until the
power operated blower sucks out all
the dust and carries it into a dust
house or box. A conveyor then car
ries the seed to the third floor and
drops it into a cross-cOnveyor, where
are set to make what is
known as nail catcher for attracting
all the iron and nails that may have
dropped into the cotton seed thereby
saving much damage to the machin-
cry. The seed is then fed into cotton
gins containing very fine gin saws.
The gins mainly used in the southern
mills are known as the Carver gins,
which are the best for removing fine
int from seed. They are built by the
Carver Gin company of East Bridge
water, Mass
The gin saw teeth of the Carver gin
are much finer than those of the regu-
lar gin. The gin rolls are also very
much tighter, and more carefully clean
The seed than in general gin house
work.
Of late years the amount of cotton
sinned from ton of seed by this re
ginning has increased very much, as
from "a to SO pounds per ton of seed
int are now secured, where ten years
ago it was impossible to get more
than "A or 25 pounds. After the seeds
have been thus re-ginned a conveyor
carries them to the huller, which is a
wheel with cutting edges set in its in
side periphery. These edges, cut
ing the seed and to some extent
crushing them, allow them to drop
finally on to another conveyor belt,
which carries them into a shaker.
The cotton from the gins is swept
off the gin saws by blast of air and
blown on to condensers which feed
ne cotton gradually on to rolls, from
which it is rebaled for the market A
umber of special machines have
rown out of ginning practice in cot
N mills, such as the Carver saw
1arpener and GUNNER, the latter
)r making new teeth in worn saws,
hereby allowing the same saws to
used for a period of years.
The huller spoken Of above receives
9ed of 900 revolutions per minute
le cut seed are then dropped into a
wer tumbler or sand screen, which
is in two directions, and shakes all
meat possible out Of the hulls.
ter the hulls have passed through
le-s and are re-sifted again they
IS to the hull pile in another part
no h'H'' ~ --~--~ - convey
ug belt, while the meat is freed and
rushed so that the oil sacks will be
Oduy IOE COIN pISSSlOu dll0T tEOklIlS.
III the IO--~-~
to the press room, where they
mped by hand power into ste;
aters provided with stirrers to ke
meal from forming into what
own as water balls. When the Sc
vet it takes 80 pounds of steam
ok it; dry meal requires only
unds to do the work effectually,
ncocc % minutes in "a