208 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



the ground to the depth of three inches, is transformed into a 

 chrysalis, and in sixteen days reappears us a moth. By this 

 time the corn silks are dead, and this second crop of moths de- 

 posit their eggs in the cotton buds. If hot, dry we.-ither follows 

 most of the eggs perish; but if cloudy, moist weather prevails, 

 they will be more numerous. 



The remedies suggested are, first, having no corn near the 

 cotton field, and allowing the latter to lie fallow a year, which 

 will destroy most of the eggs ; second, planting a small field of 

 late corn near the cotton, or a row every thirty feet through the 

 cotton field, as the miller will not deposit its eggs on the cotton 

 if green corn is convenient. 



DISEASES. There are some diseases to which cotton is sub- 

 ject, but for all of them the best remedies are thorough cultiva- 

 tion, as they are usually caused by defective drainage or culti- 

 vation, or an exhausted soil. The crop is rarely destroyed by 

 any of them, although it is often cut short. These diseases are 

 called the "sore shin," the red and brown rust, the dry rot, and 

 the " cotton blues," and there is no specific remedy for any of 

 them. None of them are feared by the planter with a good soil 

 which is well cultivated. 



COTTON-SEED AND ITS USES. From each bale of cotton there 

 will be produced about fourteen hundred pounds of seed. Until 

 about 1850 this was considered a waste product, and was left 

 to accumulate in great piles about the gin-houses. About 1855 

 several of the largest linseed oil mills of the country were 

 converted into cotton-seed oil mills. The first oil made was of 

 a dark-red color, and was used for burning in lamps; but the 

 oil refiners soon discovered a cheap and simple process of refin- 

 ing it so as to make an oil of a rich olive color, sweet and agree- 

 able to the taste, and it is largely used as a substitute for olive 

 oil for culinary purposes. The oil is also largely used for the 

 manufacture of soap, although the first experiments were not 

 successful, as the soap, after being kept a few weeks, would 

 exude a dark, gummy liquid, which rendered it unsalable. 

 When mixed with petroleum it makes a fair lubricating oil, 

 and painters have used it to some extent. 



