USES OF COTTON STALKS 455 



many products and compounds are made. Cottonseed oil 

 is used for cooking, either alone or in combination with 

 animal fats, as lard and butter substitutes such as cottolene 

 and oleomargarine. Some of the grades of oil are used as 

 substitutes for olive and peanut oils and for medicinal pur- 

 poses, while others are largely used in the manufacture of 

 soaps. The meats from which the oil has been pressed are 

 ground into meal, known as cottonseed meal. 



Cottonseed meal is utilized as a fertilizer and as a feed 

 for live stock. As a fertiUzer, it is rich in nitrogen and also 

 contains some potash and phosphoric acid. It is com- 

 monly used in the fertilization of all crops throughout the 

 South. As a stock feed, it is most largely fed to cattle and 

 sheep. It contains 37.6 per cent of digestible protein and 

 9.6 per cent of fat, so that it is one of the most concentrated 

 feeds. Cottonseed meal is largely exported, it being in much 

 favor among dairymen and other feeders of Uve stock in 

 England and elsewhere. 



622. Uses of the Stalks. Little use has yet been made 

 of the stalks of cotton, though cattle will eat the young bolls, 

 leaves, and smaller stems if turned into the field after the 

 crop is picked. The stalks may be cut with a stalk cutter 

 and plowed under or they may be burned. Plowing them 

 under is the better practice, since they are of some value for 

 both vegetable matter and fertilizer. Some successful at- 

 tempts have been made to produce paper from cotton stalks 

 and from cottonseed hulls, but the industry has not yet 

 been developed on a commercial scale. With the rapid 

 depletion of our supply of wood pulp, it is probable that 

 cotton and cornstalks will soon be put to this use. 



DISEASES AND INSECTS 



623. Diseases. Of the numerous diseases of cotton which 

 occur in various sections of the South perhaps the most 

 important are cotton wilt and root rot. Cotton wilt is some- 



