MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 125 



ANALYSIS OF COTTONSEED MEAL OF STANDARD QUALITY. 



Moisture, 10.50 



Organic matter (including 6.72 per cent of nitrogen), 83.67 



Lime, 0.29 



Magnesia, 0.72 



Soda, 0.25 



Potash, 1.83 



Phosphoric acid, 2.35 



Insoluble matter, 0.39 



Total ash, 5.83 



100.00 



Of course the fertilizing value of cottonseed meal 

 depends mainly upon its nitrogen, but potash and phos- 

 phoric acid are also important. It is such a popular 

 fertilizer and feed that in years of scarcity and high 

 prices, cottonseed meal is adulterated by adding rice 

 meal, etc., or by grinding the hulls into it. This impure 

 meal contains only half or two-thirds as much nitrog- 

 enous matter as the pure article, and, if bought at all, 

 it should be at a reduction of twenty-five to fifty per 

 cent from the price of straight goods. The meal with 

 hulls is dark and contains hard, black fragments of hulls. 

 As the Connecticut station truly says, "In ordinary 

 meal, to use as feed or fertilizer, purchasers should re- 

 quire decorticated upland cottonseed meal, containing at 

 least six and one-half per cent of nitrogen, unless they are 

 willing to use the other greatly inferior meal, which can- 

 not be economically done unless it can be got for a 

 greatly reduced price." Oftentimes this meal ferments 

 and sours, which renders it unfit for cattle food, and it 

 is then sold at a less price. This damaged meal is 

 almost, if not quite, as good for fertilizing purposes as 

 the sweet meal, and a considerable saving in first cost is 

 made by using it. 



This meal is such an excellent cattle food that it is 

 almost a waste to use it directly as a fertilizer, especially 

 as by far the most of its fertilizing elements are found 

 in the manure, after feeding. For general farm pur- 



