176 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



in the meal, to decomposition products, and to salts of pyrophosphoric 

 acid. Further work showed that the poisonous effects were not due to 

 any of these causes. Recently Withers and Carruth of the North Caro- 

 lina Station 22 have found that the poisonous quality is due to a yellow 

 compound, called gossypol, which can be extracted from cotton seed by 

 ether. The purified gossypol had the same poisonous effect as the cotton 

 seed. This substance is destroyed to some extent by heating, and therefore 

 cottonseed meal is less poisonous than raw cotton seed. It is to be hoped 

 that in time methods may be developed of treating cottonseed meal so that 

 it will be safe for all classes of animals. 



250. Rational use of cottonseed meal and cake. Cottonseed meal is 

 one of the most valuable of feeds when rationally fed, often being the 

 cheapest available source of protein, and thru it, of nitrogen for main- 

 taining soil fertility. (435) The amounts which may be safely fed to 

 each kind of stock are fully discussed in the respective chapters of Part 

 III. The most extensive use of cottonseed meal is by dairymen, for com- 

 paratively heavy allowances may be fed to milk cows without harm. 

 (596) Fed in large amount, cotton seed or cottonseed meal produces 

 hard, tallowy butter, light in color and poor in flavor. A limited quan- 

 tity has little effect on the butter and is even helpful with cows whose 

 milk produces a soft butter. 



For fattening steers and sheep cottonseed meal, in limited amount, 

 is one of the most satisfactory of nitrogenous supplements. (750, 855) 

 Great numbers of steers are fattened at the oil-mill factories, often on 

 a ration of 6 to 8 Ibs. of cottonseed meal with cottonseed hulls or corn 

 silage for roughage. Harrington and Adriance at the Texas Station 23 

 found that cotton seed produced harder fat than corn, the kidney, caul, 

 and body fat of steers fed cotton seed having melting points 4.1, 3.2, 

 and 8.7 C. higher, respectively, than the corresponding fats of corn- 

 fed steers. The effect was even more marked in the case of sheep. In 

 restricted amounts, mixed preferably with bulky feed, cottonseed meal 

 has been fed to horses and mules with entire success. (488) Altho cotton- 

 seed meal is especially poisonous to swine, some feeders, guided by ex- 

 perience, use it in small amounts and for short periods with little loss. 

 (974) 



Cottonseed meal having a dull color due to improper storage, and that 

 from musty and fermented seed, should never be used for feeding stock. 

 Cottonseed meal does not have the beneficial laxative effect of linseed 

 meal, but instead is somewhat constipating. Much more care must be 

 used in feeding it than in using linseed meal, but when carefully fed in 

 proper combination with other feeds, as good results may be secured with 

 horses, dairy cows, and fattening cattle and sheep as when linseed meal 

 is employed. This most nutritious feed, the richest in fertilizing con- 

 stituents of all our common feeding stuffs of plant origin, is often spread 

 directly on the land as fertilizer. Obviously, its full value can be real- 



Jour. Agr. Res., 5, 1915, pp. 261-88; 12, 1918, pp. 83-102, 425-51. a Tex. Bui. 29. 



