COTTON 283 



brought rival companies into the field, and to-day 

 wherever cotton is grown there are mills of various 

 sizes converting raw seed into crude oil, meal and 

 hulls. 



THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING 



Seed are gathered wherever obtainable and then 

 delivered at the oil mill. Arriving here they are 

 shoveled into a basket elevator which empties into 

 a conveyor in the top of the building, and from 

 thence they are distributed wherever storage room 

 is available. Seed are now screened so as to get 

 rid of bolls and other impurities, sand, dust, etc. 



This process of cleaning is the first step in the 

 production of oil. Now seed go to the linters, 

 where the short fibres are removed; and from here 

 they go to the huller a contrivance fitted with 

 sets of knives that cut the seed into many small 

 pieces. The heavier part of the seed, the meat, 

 drops out and goes in one direction, while the hulls 

 are carried in another. This operation is further 

 perfected by having all of the droppings pass 

 through sieves or screens which allow the meats to 

 go through, but retain the greater part of the hulls. 

 The hulls are next sent to places where they may 

 be stored away, or carried to the press for baling. 

 The meat now passes through a series of rollers 

 intended to crush the particles and cells. From 

 here it goes to heaters and kettles, and is cooked, 

 the time of this cooking varying from 15 to 40 

 minutes according to the judgment of the cook, and 

 the condition of the seed. 



When this operation has been completed the 

 meats are placed in a hydraulic press where the oil 



