AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PREPARING COTTON SEED
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Frederick Samuel Fish at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th February 1883.
Communicated to him from abroad by Thomas Taylor of Washington in the
United States of America.
"
FREDERICK SAMUEL FISH of 770 Broad Street Newark New Jersey United
States of America at present residing at the Langham Hotel in the County of
Middlesex "AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PREPARING COTTON SEED
cated to him from abroad by Thomas Taylor of Washington in the United States
of America.]
[Cominuni-
This Invention is an improved mode of cleaning and purifying cotton-seed.
Heretofore such seed have been used, both for crushing or grinding into meal and
for planting, in the condition in which they come from the cotton. In this
condition they are surrounded by a coating of the cotton fibre, and have a thick
shell or pericarp, the inner portions of which are hard and fibrous. In this natural
condition the seeds include in their mass a large amount of indigestible and useless
matter, which, when the seeds are ground for food, is inseparable, except at great
expense, from the valuable and nutritive portions. Further, in this condition the
good and bad seed are not distinguishable or separable, and when planted must be
used in greater quantities in order to insure the requisite number of sprouts.
It has been found by careful and extensive experiments that if the cotton fibre
be removed from the seeds, and the coating of woody or intercellular or gummy
matter be taken off and the pericarp be reduced to the hard, woody shell which
lies next to the kernel, the value of the seed is greatly enhanced, both for food
purposes and for planting. For the latter purpose, especially, the seeds are greatly
improved, since, first, the bad seeds may be removed by floating them upon water,
while the good seeds sink therein; and further, for the reason that by the reduction
of the fibrous and woody coating the seeds sprout more quickly after planting.
For other purposes the seeds, when their pericarp is reduced to the hard, woody
inner shell alone, are more valuable, since their shells may be easily cracked and
removed from the kernal.
The process consists in treating these cotton-seeds with sulphuric acid, in the
special manner hereinafter described, whereby the seeds are left with a hard,

page_text: woody shell, capable of protecting them from dampness or other injury in handling
or storage, but are fitted especially for crushing or sprouting.
In carrying out the invention a quantity of cotton-seeds, in the natural crude
state is placed in a suitable vessel, and sulphuric acid of 66° Beaumé is added
thereto in the proportion of from two to four ounces of the acid to a pound of the
seed, the amount of acid between those two extremes varying with its strength.
This amount has been found advantageous and sufficient for rapidly, effectually,
and safely removing the fibrous and other outer coating from the seed. It is
essential to the proper operation of the process and the suitable preservation of the
seed that it should be dry, to prevent heating when the acid is added. The acid
should be evenly stirred with the mass of seed. The seed is subjected to the action
of the acid about fifteen minutes, although it may be held therein even longer, as
the acid does not readily act on the hard, woody inner shell. After the seed is
removed from the acid, or the acid removed from the seed, either of which may be
done by any suitable means, the seed is subjected to friction by any suitable
machinery, such as brushes or revolving cylinders. The seeds are next subjected
to a bath of lime-water to remove all traces of the acid. After this the seeds are
washed in pure water to remove the lime, and are then dried, when they are fit for
storage or for immediate use, either by the planter or to crush for food. Instead of
lime it is obvious that any equivalent alkaline substance may be used.
In this process it will be observed that the proper result depends upon the
removal of the fibre and outer coating alone. It is essential that the action of
the acid and friction should be suspended before the hard shell is removed or
fractured.
The process is so conducted, that only the outer rough and fibrous covering is
removed, and the hard, woody shell, capable of polish, and completely protecting
the kernel, remains; and, an alkaline bath arrests the action at the proper point, and
leaves the seeds in proper condition and entirely unharmed.
It is incidental to the condition brought about by this process that the seeds,
when designed for planting, may be placed in water without injury, for the purpose
of separating the perfect from the imperfect-the latter floating, the former
sinking. The seeds may then be dried, and those unfit for planting may be used
for other purposes.