The Washington herald., 1908-08-07
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

With optimistic reports IN regard 70
this falls cotton crop coming in from the
greater part Of the South. interest in the
possible output Of the cottOnseed industry
IS revived Although only about half Of
this one-une waste product IS utilized at
present. il represents annually TnanUfsc-
tUred articles valued at nearly $50, 0,0o0-
Tennessee and Mississippi mills crush
about s. Per cent Of the seed used South
Carolina crushes only about half the seed
from her gins II devoives on Texas 10
furnish more than one-fourth Of the cot
tonseed used IN the SIS mills operating
IN the cotton belt
Approximately SS5eo0.O00 IS invested in
the manufacture OF c0ttonseed oil and
other by-products OF the seed. and while
the valuation Of the output has increased
hfteen-fold in the past twenty-five years.
manufacturers aver that the value should
now approximate S2O0000Oo0 a year More
products OF cottonseed are consumed al
home now than eight years ago. though
the exports for the year ended In March
1855. showed oil 10 the value Of S17.6 600,
cake. S3.400.O00, and large compounds.
S6.l00000. And these returns from q pro
duct one time deemed as vaIueless as
sawdust from a country sawFniu, and
from whose accumulations gin houses
were once moved from time 10 time But
what the utilization Of the waste in the
manufacture Of petroleum was to the
mineral oil business, so has the utiliza-
ton Of cOttonseed been 10 the cotton
growing industry
We annually grow some 100000 bales
Of cotton Each bale yields about Loo
pounds, or thirty bushels OF seed, and
each bushel OF this seed is worth 80 cents
fl the raw state This means some 81. =
0le000 bushels Of valuable material for
direct and indirect human consumption
every year, and Il means over 800 000. ono
in the pockets Of the cotton growers
which would otherwise have gene to
waste II means. when the seed IS trans
ferred into finished products. 250. 10000
gallons Of oil. valued al 60 cents a gallon
totaIIIng sO)1, 900. $4,000 tons Of huIs.
valued al Sl3.0o0.000; over 2Glo00.000 tons
Of meal. valued at about S47.000.O00 and
13o000,000 pounds Of lint. valued at SzO00.-
. co. All told. Il means that what was OF
10 value a little more than a quarter OF a
NGAAA--Al lED IS no" annually mace luLO
c finished product worth the enormous
total Of nearly $50 1OoaO0l With the waste
now being utilized in this one crop we
could build fifteen battle ships OF the
DreadnaUght type
Not only has the utilization OF the
hitherto worthless cottonseed brought
ransom OF a hundred kings into the pock-
cts OF the cotton farmers, but il has af-
fccted nearly every man. woman. and
child in the country BY making the price
Of beef lower Down IN Texas they raise
millions OF cattle and millions OF bales
Of cotton. A ton Of huIls and the meal
from one bale OF cotton VIII fatten as
sleek beef steer as you may choose TO
look upon And hundreds Of thousands
Of such steers are grown every year that
could not be grown were Il not FOR the
utilization OF cOttOnseed- In Texas. f0r
instance. they have pasture for about
eight OF nine months out Of the year.
During the other months they need some
kind OF 'rOughDeSs What corn fodder
IS 70 the Western farmer and oar straw
70 the Northern stock grower during the
winter months. cOrJOlseed huIIs have be
come 10 the Southern farmer. and thus
lie Is enabled 20 grow beet cattle Is fine
as those OF the Iowa or Illinois farmer
When one IS told that the annual cot
ton crop yields 2O00001 tons Of cotton
seed meal he viii begin TO notice that
this means a whole lot % beef and
whole lot Of milk and butter But when
the Information IS added that one ton
Of cotoaseed meal has as much nutritive
value as several tons OF wheat bran OF
corn meal, the Importance Of the product
VIII begin 10 appear A ton Of cotton
seed meal contains 1s4 pounds OF nitro
sen. as compared with 4 pounds n a ton
of wheat bran. The other constituents
OF nutritive value show similar proper
tons. Yet II sells 20 the stock feeder at
a price but little above that Of wheat or
corn meal
Everybody knows that wheat IS one Of
the most completely nourishing Of the
cereals It combines nearly every con-
stituent needed for human or animal nu-
triton Yet when a bushel Of wheat has
dollars worth Of food elements in it.
q bushel Of cottonseed will show E39
worth Of them. OF more nutrition By al
most half Another interesting thing de-
veI0ped IN the scientific study OF cotton
seed IS that when cottonseed huus and
nUre IS almost as valuable for a land
fertilizer as the original huIls and meal
would have been. bringing the cattle
grower almost double value from his cot
ronseed.
The utilization OF cottonseed began 20
take commercial form about the begin
ming Of the civil war. when many expert
ments were made in both New England
and the South But II was not until aft
er the beginning OF the 'S5's that IL figured
largely in the reckonings Of the val1e OF
the cotton crop. and much later than that
when Il reached IT'S present vast dimen-
sio1s- One Frederick Good was a pIo-
neer IN the Cottouseed oil business. but
4 was not a profitable venture Tor him
and he carried a little flask OF the oil
about with him. remarkinE to his friends
that Il had cost him $1,000
We are indebted 10 the Europeans for
teaching US the use Of cottonseed meal
and hulls- The meal cake was exported
Tor a number Of years and was regarded
with prime favor by European cattle
feeders and dairymen before We tried It.
The hulls were al first burned in the
engines to make steam for manufacturing
the oil. but Il was soon found that they
were worth TOO much for such use and
ever since they have been fed TO cattle
with an Increasing profit The OIL was
put 10 but comparatively few uses in the
earlier years Of its production. but IN re-
cent years il has found a thousand uses
One Of the first uses made OF Il was BY
the French and lne Italians They I'm
pore most Of the product in the in
farcy Of the business, refined It. mixed