Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-12-28
THE COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE OF COTTON SEED

from $500 20 1900 pounds of seed cotton
20 produce bale; in others. not over
I 12oo pounds. Since the seed Sare all nee
| essarily handled through the gins. it
I would not seem TO be a difficult matter
! TO secure the additional data needed to
| determine the exact production of each
year.
That cotton seed and it's by-products are
rapidly increasing I'm commercial import
ance is shown by the following data bas
ed on yield of 100000 bales for the
year 1900. There is much question at this
time as 10 just what the yield will be.
many eOntending that it cannot possibly
be over 10.5O0.OO0 bales. and i'm that case
these figures would be somewhat higher
than they should be. though there are
many who claim that 70 per cent of the
seed. owing TO the high price. have found
their way into the hands of the mill man,
whereas, the figures presented are based
on 20 per cent OF the seed being secured
bv the mills.
With crop of 100000 bales and cot
ton ''thirding" itself. the seed crop should
approximate $4,000 tons II 20 per cent
was crushed S.S50.0O0 tons We're used by
the oil mills. The price OF seed has been
unusually high this year. and has prob
ably averaged so a ton. though i'm many
localities IL has sold for as much as $50
ton. Figuring the seed on the basis of
so, IL represents a cost to the mills OF
50. 10000. The amount of seed crushed
last year was reported to be 100000 tons
the average cost being 1856, or a total of
So, IA. 500 The very substantial advance
in the price of seed this year has made a
short crop worth much more to the farm
ers than the larger crop Of last year, and
indicates the rapid rise in public favor
of the by-products of cotton seed, and il
is safe 10 say that in the course of a few
years, the seed will probably sell to the
mills readily at $50 ton, and represent a
considerable part of the cotton farmers
profit. Even now the seed produced, II
all sold to the mills, would represent a
sum considerably I'm excess of the value
Of one-seventh of the lint produced.
Granting that 40 gallons or 800 pounds of
oil. S13 pounds of meal, 45 pounds of lint
ers and 725 pounds of hulls are obtained
from a ton of seed, the by-prodhcts OBJ
tanned from the present crop would be
approximately as follows: 154,OOO,OO0 gal
Ions of oil; 1.565.025 tons of meal 17s, 25O. 900
pounds of linters. and l,395,625 tons of
hulls. It will be observed that there is a
waste In manufacture on this basis of III
pounds per ton Of seed crushed; but II
statistics are reliable, this is much less
than the waste formerly existing which
was put down for the decade 1890 to 1900
at about 161 pounds. The mills now also
obtain about 20 pounds more OIL than they
did ten years ago, 81 pounds more meal,
five pounds more linters and 70 pounds
less Of hulls. A corresponding change in
the proportions Of oil. meal and hulls may
be expected in the next ten years as the
machinery I'm use is perfected by inven-
ton and the management becomes more
proficient in its operation.
h The value Of the by-products is some
what problematical owing to the wide va
riation in price which they have COM
manded at various seasons of the wear
The crude oil market opened at from % to
q cents per gallon, and has reached the
unprecedented high level Of AZ cents: the
average for the season will probably not
be far short Of IS cents. Meal has sold
for some time at $50 a ton, but much of
il was contracted at a figure which will
make the average received for the prod
uct probably not over SCI per ton. The
linters are worth approximately is cents
pound; and the bulls about 20 cents a
hundred, or s. per ton. The figures for oil
and meal are considerably lower than
they would have been had there not been
much advance selling of these products
by the mills during the summer and ear
" fan before II was realized how short
the cotton crop was likely to be.
The above figures have been used i'm de-
termining the approximate value for the
by-products for 1909. On this basis the
crude oil was worth SO. "A. 600: the meal,
So $3.50: the hulls. S11.165.OOO. and the
linters. S.59S,T5o. This makes a total OF
] Sill, 4Ss. 425. and marks the first substantial
advance in the value OF cotton seed bv-
products beyond the sl00.OO0OOO mark. Ac-
cording to bulletin 100 of the department
, OF commerce and labor, the products of
1908 were worth approximately $50. Os2. 5Ss.
Of which oil contributed about $4,000 511:
meal and cake. s5s.57s So; hulls. $50 500.
and linters, S2.3H.7S7. These figures show
the ever-increasing recognition which the
by-products of cotton seed>are command
ing Meal sold few years ago at 81 to
SIS a ton. and though the amount avaiIa.
BILE has been greatly increased since that
date. the supply is limited In proportion to
the demand at So per ton. The same Is
true Of oil, the high level for the crude
product having been reached this year.