50 , FERTILITY AND FERTILIZER HINTS 



The Vegetable Substances. 



Cotton-seed meal is one of the most important sources of 

 vegetable nitrogen. It is usually a bright yellow product with 

 a nutty odor when fresh.* 



For the year 1908, 929,287,467 pounds of cotton-seed meal 

 were manufactured in the United States.^ 



Yields of Products from a Ton of Cotton-Seed."^ 



Pounds 



Linters 23 



Hulls 943 



Crude oil ( 37.6 gals. ) 282 



Cake or meal 713 



Waste 39 



Total 2,000 



Composition of Cotton-seed Meal. — The composition of cotton- 

 seed meal varies a great deal. When it is not adulterated with 

 hulls the variation in composition may be due to the season, the 

 nature of the soil and the climate. Seed raised on high land is 

 usually richer in nitrogen than seed raised on low land. The 

 Texas meals seem to run high in nitrogen. In the past few 

 years many of the manufacturers have been introducing ground 

 cotton-seed hulls into their meal which of course lowers the value 

 of this product. Cotton-seed meal is in great demand as feed 

 for live-stock and the bright yellow meals are used for this pur- 

 pose. The darker meals are not so valuable as feed and are 

 usually sold for fertilizer. The dark color may be due to over- 

 cooking, to fermentation, or to storing in a wet or damp place. 

 If there is no loss of nitrogen, the product is not injured for 

 fertilizing purposes.* 



Value of Cotton-seed Meal. — Large quantities of this product 

 are used in the South where it is especially suitable for the long 

 growing crops as it supplies plant food during the whole season. 



An insect, called the boll weevil, is reducing the acreage and 

 yield of this crop. If the entomologists do not find a way of 



1 1908 Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



2 Lamborn, Cotton-Seed Products. 



