Cottonseed By-products 243 



The first process in the mauufacture of the oil is 

 to remove the hull from the inside meat. This is done 

 by a sheller, which breaks the seed -coat and forces it 

 from the kernel. These seed -coats, which constitute 

 from 45 to 50 per cent of the delinted seeds, are known 

 in commerce as cottonseed hulls, and are used to some 

 extent as a feeding stuff. They are characterized by a 

 very low proportion of protein and a very high con- 

 tent of fiber. Twenty -two analyses show a range of 

 protein from 1.6 per cent to 4.4 per cent, and of fiber 

 from 35.7 to 66.9 per cent. Such material as this be- 

 longs with the very lowest grade of coarse fodder, as 

 both composition and experience demonstrate. The 

 hulless kernels make up from 50 to 55 per cent of 

 the delinted seed, and from those the oil is obtained. 

 These meats are first cooked twenty or thirty minutes 

 in large, steam -jacketed kettles in order to drive off the 

 water and render the oil more fluid, and then after 

 being formed into cakes in wire cloths, they are sub- 

 mitted to a pressure of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds to the 

 square inch. This removes at least four -fifths of the 

 oil and leaves the cakes very solid, which after dry- 

 ing are cracked and then ground into a fine meal, 

 known in commerce as cottonseed meal. Formerly a 

 ton of ginned seed yielded the following quantities of 

 the different parts: 



Linters 20 pounds 



Hulls 891 " 



Cake or meal , 800 *' 



Crude oil 289 " 



Since the above estimate was prepared the manufac- 



