126 PRODUCTIVE FARMING 



soaps, and other articles. The remaining part of the seed 

 after pressing out the oil is ground into cottonseed meal and 

 used for stock feed, particularly for dairy cows. (See com- 

 position in Appendix Table VIII.) It is also used as a fer- 

 tihzer as it is so rich in nitrogen. The hulls are also used for 

 stock feed and fertilizer. 



• In gjnning the cotton for one bale, nearly 1000 pounds 

 of seed are obtained. This amount of seed at the oil mill 

 will produce about the following numbers of pounds: Oil 

 150; cottonseed hulls 400; cottonseed meal 375; linters, 

 trash, and dirt 75. 



The fibers of the stems and branches of the cotton plant 

 are sometimes used in the manufacture of coarse grades of 

 bagging. 



Diseases of Cotton. — Cotton wilt, cotton rust and cotton 

 root-knot are the most common diseases likely to affect the 

 crop if it is grown year after year on the same soil. If a 

 good rotation of crops is kept up as with corn, wheat, and 

 legumes, there is little danger from disease. 



Insect Enemies. — The cotton plant is not seriously 

 affected with insects except in the squares and bolls. Two 

 insects do most of this damage, the boll-weevil and the 

 boll-worm. 



The Mexican boll=weevil has now spread over the south- 

 eastern and central parts of Texas, much of Louisiana and 

 the adjacent portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

 The area is increasing rapidly. In those sections only such 

 farmers as practice the best methods of cotton culture are 

 able to continue raising the crop successfully. As this insect 

 spreads over the cotton belt it causes much change in the 

 methods of growing the crop. 



When the insect appears in early summer, it first attacks 

 the buds and the flower leaves, called "squares'* (Fig. 65a). 

 These soon fall to the ground. The earliest buds may escape 

 the injury and develop bolls and cotton. . 



