DAIRY MEETING. 97 



already that these meals are the cheapest source of protein on 

 the market and that is true, but they are not, however, as cheap 

 today as 3 or 4 years ago. The price has gone up and the 

 protein content down. The best grade, or choice meals, were 

 formerly guaranteed 43 per cent protein, but for the last two 

 seasons the guaranty has been reduced to 41 per cent and also 

 there are many failures to maintain this lower standard. 

 The chief cause of the lowering of the standard and decrease 

 in the percentage of protein is a too great admixture of cot- 

 tonseed hulls and lint with the meal. A small amount of the 

 lint and hulls inevitably enters into the composition of the best 

 meals. In the process of manufacture the seeds are crushed 

 and the meats which are rich in protein are separated from the 

 hulls, which have but little feed value. Of late the machinery 

 or process of manufacture has been changed slightly to prevent 

 loss of meats, some portions of which go into the hulls, and in 

 making this saving more of the hulls are introduced into the 

 meal, reducing its value and giving it a somewhat darker color. 

 The quality of the meal also varies somewhat with the season. 

 In a dry season the meal is a nice bright yellow color, rich in 

 protein ; but in a wet season it is likely to be dark, due to a 

 fermentation which is sometimes started in the boll or after 

 the seed is separated and stored awaiting the process of grind- 

 ing. In very wet seasons a large amount of meal is so damaged 

 in this way that it can only be used for fertilizer. The color 

 of meal is indicative of its quality. A nice bright yellow meal 

 with a fine nutty flavor, you can be sure is choice and all right. 

 The dark color is due to one of three causes: 



1. Over-heating during the cooking process. 



2. Fermentation in the seed. 



3. Undue admixture of hulls. 



The first may injure the flavor of the meal but it is doubtful 

 if its feeding value v/ould be materially affected. The second 

 may or may not render the meal wholly unfit for feeding pur- 

 poses, depending on the extent to which the fermentation has 

 been carried. The third lessens the feeding value of the product 

 and increases the cost of protein. 



A simple test for hulls may be made by putting a teaspoonful 

 of meal in a half glass of water, stirring well, then allowing the 

 whole to settle for a few minutes. If an excess of hulls is pres- 



