37* 



THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



Table Showing World's Statistics of Cotton, 1904-05 

 Bales 500 Pounds Net 



480. Seed. The extravagant statement has been made that if 

 the cotton plant produced no lint, it would still be worth 

 growing on account of its seed. In recent years, however, cot- 

 ton seed has risen to such a price on account of the increasing 

 demand of the cotton-seed oil mills that it has become an im- 

 portant element in the cotton planter's profits. The seed as re- 

 ceived by the oil mill is first re-ginned, by which a portion of the 

 linters is removed. It is next hulled, since the hulls would, if 

 not removed, absorb the oil. The meats are next cooked at 

 220 F. for 15 to 20 minutes to coagulate the albuminoids, 

 to partially drive out the water and to melt the oil, and finally 

 subjected to a pressure of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds per square inch. 

 The crude oil is shipped in tank cars to the refinery, while the 

 cake is dried, cooked, and then ground, when it is known as 

 cotton-seed meal. 



The amounts of the different products obtained will vary 

 with the character and condition of seed, and the skill and per- 



1 Turkestan and Transcaucasia in Asia. 



