The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-09
|GROWTHIN THE USE : 0F COTTON SEED Increase in Mills Has Been
 Phenomenal SOME CENSUS FIGURES As Late as 1870 England Was Lead ing the World in the Manu- facture of Cotton Seed
 Products

Washing gton. July S-(SpeciaD D-In the forthcoming census bureaus bulletin Ill, on cotton production for 1910, it is stat ed, prior to the introduction of oil mills, i cotton seed was considered practically worthless except for planting. With the exception of small quantities used as fertilizer and as feed, 1t was for the most part dumped in remote places to rot or was thrown into running streams. prac- tices which in time became such a menace to health as to call for legislative regll- lation in some states. Within a compara- lively short period, however, that which was formerly looked upon as waste has been utilized. furnishing wholesome food product, a valuable feedstuff and many other useful products.
 l The manufacture of cotton seed prod ucts on commercial scale had it's be- ginning in England, and as late as 1870 that country, with an annual crush of 200,o00 tons, was the leading cotton seed oil producing country in the world. Ow- ing, however, to the heating and conse- quent deterioration to which cotton seed is liable in. transit and in storage. a tendency naturally developed to locate the oil mills as near as practicable to
 the source of seed supply. This tendency, together with the varied and increasing uses for the product, accounts in large measure for the phenomenal growth of 1.-the industry in the United States The
 annual crush oa, cotton seed in this coun-
 try. Is now nearly 100000, tons. .e-
 Prior to 1S40
 In the United States few mills had
 been built prior to 1S4O, but as late as
 1860 there were only seven operating, and in 1870 only 26. Since then the increase in the number of mills has been steady and rapid, until at the census. of 1910 the number returned as having crushed seed during the preceding year was s10.
 The increase in the number of mills l crushing seed has been much greater in recent years than the increase in the quantity of seed crushed. Formerly the l mills were generally located at railroad centers, had large capacity, and se-
 cured their seed from wide areas In
 later years, however, the demand for oct ton seed products and the enterprise of
 business men in the smaller towns have
 resulted in the erection of many small
 mills that depend almost entirely upon
 the local seed supply, and thus serve the
 double purpose of creating local mar
 ket for the seed and providing cheaper
 feedstuffs than were available when
 freight and other charges were involved.
 Large Increase in Establishments Between 1899 and 1909 the number of
 establishments ngaged in crushing cot ton seed Increased from 357 to S10 or 127 per cent, and the quantity of seed crush
 ed increased from 2,4193S6 tons to 3S27-
 30l tons, or 54 per cent
 The quantity of seed crushed increased
 in every state with the single exception
 of Louisiana, where 1883 tons were , crushed in 1899 and 155,54S tons in 1909
 In Georgia and In South Carolina the
 quantity crushed more than doubled and In Oklahoma it more than trebled In
 Tennessee the increase in the crush was
 small, while in Texas the gain amount
 ed to 92 per cent
 The average crush of mills reporting
 amounted to 6945 tons In 1899, compared
 with 4666 tons in 1904 and 4725 tons in
 1909. The reduction in the average crush per establishment during the first half or the decade was due very largely to
 the erection of mills in the smaller towns
 which are close to the seed supply, while
 formerly much the larger number of
 mills were located at railroad centers and $. Recently. however, there has been a slight increase in some states in the avrage crush per mill, due to the fact that the high price of seed has resulted in the crushing of a larger percentage of the seed produced. During the decade falling off in the average crush per mill has occurred throughout the states of the cotton belt with the exception of Oklahoma and SoIith Carolina, in both of which the average was somewhat larger in 1909 than in 1S99 The most not able reduction was in Louisiana, where
 the average per establishment decreased from 11,952 tons to 379 tons This de- crease was of course, to a very large extent the result of the decline in the production of cotton in that state fol- lowing the ravages of the boil weevil Total Cost $78,000, ,O0O
 Of the S1O mills concerned there were 219 which crushed less than 200O tons of seed each during the census year and 525 or 65 per cent which crushed less than 5000 tons each There were SS mills each
 of which crushed 10000 tons or over and these together reported almost one third of the total quantity of seed crushed in the industry The total cost of seed delivered at the mill was 7S,111,S57 in 1909, while in 1901 it was s51,S7S,604 and in 1899 $2S, 632 6l6. During the last decade, therefore there
 has been an increase in the total cost of 173 per cent, which Is much greater than the increase in the total quantity of seed crushed.
 In 1909 the average cost per ton was $20.4L nearly double the figure for 1899, s1l.55. The average cost per ton in 1909 was higher than that for the United States in Georgia. Louisiana, North Car olina, Oklahoma and South Carolina and lower in Alabama. Arkansas Mis-
 slssippi, Tennessee and Texas.
 High Prices in 1910
 The total value of the crude products manufactured from the seed amounted to $l07,52S,204 in 1909, compared with s42,- 411,s35 in 1s99 an increase of more than l50 per cent during the decade. This increase, which is shared by every state, was brought about principally by the
 high prices obtained for the products In the value of products per ton of seed crushed there has been an advance dur ing the decade from M711 to $2S10, or GA per cent. In 1909 crude oil represented 51 per cent of the value of all products cake and meal, 3S per cent; hulls, per cent; and lnters, per ceut; while in 1899 crude oil constituted 50 per cent of the total value; cake and meal 9S per cent hulls, s, per cent, and linters, per cent. The ratios which the several products in 1909 bore to the total weight of the seed when received at the mill were as follows: Crude oil 155 per cent; meal, 4S.S per cent; hulls, 331 per cent; lint CTS, 2.3 per cent From a comparison of these figures with the corresponding 1t will be observed that there have been efo q tnnr ft~- ..l,l.