Evening star., 1915-05-16
BY-PR0DUCTS OF COTTON
By Frederic J. Haskin.

nave multiplied enormously during the
last five years. For instance. a consid
erable portion of that great American
delicacy. ice cream. offered for sale
during this summer will be enriched
by certain fatty substance secured
from refined cotton seed oil. Cotton oil
Ice cream has been secretly on the mar
ket for about three years. 1t Is likely
to be made openly and in larger guam
titles this season than ever before. be-
cause of tho improved methods by
which the oil is blended with the milk
ity and flavor.
This process must not be regarded as
adulteration, because tho substitution
is not only harmless. but wholesome.
Chemical studies now being carried on
indicate that the cotton oil. when prop
erly refined. has qualities calculated to
aid digestion, and that an ice cream in
blended may be less difficult to digest
than a product composed OF pure dairy
cream. The pure food law will inter-
fere with any extensive selling of the
combination product as genuine cream.
As . fat for cooking. and also for
salad dressing. cotton seed oil has now
become gen.
Oil Is Accepted timely ac-
cepted. al
for Cooking Purposes. though e1-
periments are still being conducted to
determine its food value. In the food
experiment station Of the Department
of Agriculture one Of the young scden-
lists has been conducting experiments
during the last month for the purpose
Of ascertaining the best fats for frying
potatoes. in order to secure the maxi
mum amount Of nutrition. Cotton seed
oil has been found to meet all the tests
most satisfactorily. A bulletin upon
this subject is now in preparation by
the department
Several years ago. at the state farm
ers convention held at College Park,
Tex, number of articles of food COM
posed OF cotton seed meal or flour were
considerable quantity of this meal is
now being used in that and other
southern states for human consump-
ton. Many small mills are making 1t,
ly introduced it, There is no secret
process. 1t is simply the meat of
fresh. high-grade seed, ground fine and
thoroughly bolted It cannot be kept
long. as it's flavor rapidly deteriorates
after being ground. 1t resembles corn
meal In this respect, as only the
freshly ground corn Is best for human
food
No other American product contrib
utes SO largely to the national comfort
no other has so great value In re-
ducing the cost of living. New eco
nomic values in this plant are being
discovered continually. The average
schoolboy finds himself dependent upon
cotton for his clothing. his food, his
school books. his recreations and
sports. the furnishing Of his home and
countless other adjuncts to his welfare.
He rises in the morning from a COM
Portable bed. including a cotton-fllled
mattress. cot
Cotton IL Used ton sheets,
comfort a n d
for Many Purposes. frequently cot
ton blankets. He bathes, using a soap
made chiefly Of cotton seed oil. He
dresses himself in cotton clothes. and
proceeds to the dining room to eat his
breakfast in which fats from cotton
butter, as well as the frying material
quite possible that he eats griddle
cakes. at least partially made OF cot
ton seed meal. as a number Of the va
rieties of prepared -four contain a per-
centaRe OF this meal, which adds to
the richness and flavor of the cakes
produced. In school he studies from
books bound in boards made of cotton
fiber and covered with cotton cloth.
1t is probable in the near future that
the printed pages upon which his les
sons are printed, as well as the blank
paper upon which he writes his notes,
may be manufactured from the hulls
of the cotton seed and the bolls, as
well as from the fiber Of the plant it.
from these products already. although
the methods are more expensive than
their value justifies. Experiments are
continually being carried on to lessen
this expense.
The hard fiber ball bearings upon the
boys roller skates are produced from
cotton. The ropes and mattresses in
the school gymnasium also are likely
to be cotton products. and even his
base ball has certain percentage of
cotton in its filling. If during the
course of the day, the boy meets with
ton, his wounds are dressed with cot
ton lint and bandages. If he has frac-
tured a bone il is set and supported
with fiber boards, which are more
easily fitted than the old fashioned
wooden splints.
The value Of the crude products of cot
ton. aside from the fiber, approximated
sl50.0o0.o0O
Crude Products last year