Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-04-21
Cott0nseed Meal
Valuable Fertilizer
When Fed to Pigs

At the present time. when potash In
the form Of salts is practically unob-
tainable and when both nitrogen and
acid phosphate have advanced in price
because of the use Of nitrates and sui
phuric acid for munition purposes, cot
tonseed meal, which carries all three
Of the fertilizing elements. becomes OF
great Importance. In recent years i'm
mense quantities of this material have
gone into fertilizers. approximately
1000, 900 tons having been so used in
1913.
Cottonseed meal, the residue after
the oil has been extracted from cotton-
seed. is dry, yellowish powder, having
excellent mechanical properties for fer
tilizer mixtures, and contains about 60
per cent of nitrogen. 2 per cent Of
phosphoric acid, and 2 per cent of pot
ash. 1t is therefore, according to spe-
cialists of the department primarily a
heterogeneous fertilizer. but under pres
ent conditions its potash content Is
highly important and is a decided fac
tor In determining the price at which
the material Is sold. d.
In practice, cottonseed meal should
be mixed with other ingredients. Nose
of the formulas heretofore published
have advocated various proportions OF
acid phosphate and muriate of potash
in combination with cottonseed meal.
Muriate Of potash is to all intents and
purposes unobtainable this. year and
must be omitted from present consid-
Grafton If 1000 pounds Of cottonseed
meal and 1000 pounds of acid phos-
plate are mixed, however, ton or ma
terial results which contains about lSo
pounds of phosphoric acid, SIS pounds
of nitrogen, and 90 pounds OF potash.
This is about per cent Of phosphoric
acid, 1926 per cent nitrogen, and per
cent potash, and makes very salts
factory mixture for many soils where
field crops are to be grown. For truck
ing and gardening, present practice de-
1mands higher content OF potash, anu
the mixture may be supplemented by
the application of unbleached wood
ashes if obtatnable.
Nitrogen in cottonseed meal is not so
quickly available as when applied in
the form of nitrate, but on the other
hand, Is not so likely to be leached out
in times Of heavy rainfall. In light
sandy soils where teaching Is rapid
the use of organic material such b..
cottonseed meal is to be preferred III
cay of the organic material liberates
the nitrogen gradually and there Is
much less danger of loss than is the
case when soluble salts, like Chilean
nitrate, are used.
Most of the mineral ingredients In
cottonseed meal are recovered in the
manure If the material is used as
cattle feed. The most economical use
of cottonseed meal is, therefore, to feed
it and apply the manure to the land. In
this way the material is made to serve
a double purpose. European dairymen
have for some years bought large
quantities of American cottonseed meal
for feeding purposes. AS the live stock
industry develops in our southern
states, doubtless an increasing amount
Of this material will be diverted from
the fertilizer trade for use as stock
feed, and at present wherever possible
the practice Of feeding the meal ana
using the manure for fertilizer should
be followed, rather than the direct APP
plication Of the cottonseed meal to the
land. 7"