The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-15
BIC POSSIBILITIES
 IN PEANUT O|L Jones Calls Attention to Op- pOrtunity for Building
 Up New Industry

Emmet A. Jones, chief of the bureau of immigration and markets at Mont gomery. has been very active since assuming the office in sending bulle- tins to farmers and others interested. telling what can be grown in Alabama and where mark ct for 1t can be found and at what price. He is now engaged in sending out concise bulle- tins on the growth of products not heretofore raised in Alabama in quan- titles It is in line with the campaign for diversification and one of the latest of these lessons" from Mr. Jones is on the peanut oil industry.
 With d coming shortage of cotton seed from which to make oil and with the great increase in the demand for vegetable oils in this country, there is a possibility of building up a peanut oil industry in the south" says Mr. Jones in his bulletin. By making both cotton seed oil and peanut oil in the same factories it would be possible to keep the mills in operation through out the year. With the addition of cleaning and smelling machinery, the
 
 be used for the manufacture of pea nut oil.
 'Shelled Spanish peanuts contain 50 to 52 per cent of oil and with up-to- date presses 42 to A per cent can be extracted Good Spanish peanuts will yield about one gallon of oil to one bushel of nuts. weighing 30 pounds
 "one ton of farmers stock Spanish peanuts after they have been cleaned and shelled will yield $50 to 400 pounds of first grade or edible oil, 175 to 200 pounds of second grade oil and 500 pounds of peanut cake The cake has about the same food value as cotton seed meal The present indications are that a considerable quantity of first grade peanut oil could be disposed of at 70 cents a gallon wholesale, and large quantities of second grade oil at 35 cents and 40 cents a gallon for soap making
 Tt will be impossible, however, to establish the peanut industry in the south until there is a much larger pro duction of peanuts. At present the farmers are finding the production of peanuts profitable for the regular chan nels of trade and for stock feeding purposes A little encouragement on the part of the managers of oil mills Is necessary in order 10 secure sup ply of peanuts for oil purposes.
 While the average yield of pea nuts Is only about 34 bushels an acre. with the proper methods of culture a yield of 60 bushels of nuts and one ton to one and a half tons of forage may be expected. A yield of 75 to 100 bushels an acre is not uncommon and even higher yields have been obtained.
 "rhe cost of growing 40 bushels of peanuts for market should not be more than S20 to S25 an acre. including $5 for the rent of the land. yield of 60 or more bushels per acre would cost no more than 40 bushels. except for threshing and marketing.
 During the past five years the price received by the farmer for Spanish peanuts has ranged between SO cents and s1.25 a bushel, depending upon the time they were sold. A yield of 40 bushels at 60 cents would give a return of SPA for the nuts and a ton of hay worth at least $lu. Even at this low price a fair profit would be made, de- ducting the cost of growing"