COTTON SEEDS 13 



The seeds of the cotton plant exhibit considerable 

 variation in size, colour, and other characteristics. 

 Some seeds, such as those of the American Upland 

 and Indian varieties, are closely invested with a coat- 

 ing of short, downy hairs, sometimes known as " fuzz," 

 which remains attached to the seed after the removal 

 of the cotton, whilst those of certain other forms, 

 such as the Egyptian and Sea Island varieties, are 

 almost or entirely free from this covering. In general, 

 it may be said that short-stapled cottons have the 

 most fuzzy seed, and that if the staple becomes longer 

 owing to careful selective cultivation, there is a 

 tendency for the seed to become smooth or " naked." 

 The colour of the fuzz is very variable, in some cases 

 being white and in other cases brown, green, or grey. 



In the case of the Upland cotton seed of the 

 United States, after the cotton has been separated 

 by ginning, the seeds are generally passed through 

 another machine, known as the " delinter," which 

 takes off any remaining cotton and also removes 

 most of the short, downy hairs or fuzz, the product 

 thus obtained being termed " linters " or " scarto." 

 This process improves the quality of the oil and cake 

 obtained from the seed, facilitates the handling of 

 the seed, retards fermentation during storage, and 

 renders the husks or " hulls " more suitable for use 

 as a subsidiary cattle food. The linters are employed 

 for the manufacture of paper, cheap yarns for carpet- 

 making, and other articles. 



Cotton seed contains about 20 per cent, of oil which 

 is of value for soap-making and other purposes. In 

 extracting the oil from Egyptian and other smooth 

 or non-fuzzy varieties, the seeds are crushed without 

 previously removing the hard, outer seed-coats or 

 hulls, but American Upland seeds are usually hulled 

 or decorticated first. This is necessitated by the 

 presence of the fuzz which has escaped the delinter 

 and which, if allowed to remain, deteriorates the 

 quality of both the oil and the oil-cake. The hulls 

 are sometimes ground up and used as a diluent for 

 richer cattle foods, such as cotton-seed meal ; they 

 are also largely utilised for paper-making. The oil- 



