COTTON REFUSE. 303 



as manure. "Throwing away" and "using as manure" 

 are terms, by-the-bye, which very often, though not always, 

 mean the same thing in the end ; but the cotton-seed 

 had a future before it, and what was a nuisance in 1824 

 was valuable property some years later; for in 1881 

 it was imported by England to the amount of 232,199 

 tons, the value of which was ,1,783,109. It had been 

 discovered, in the meantime, that cotton-seed could be 

 made to yield nineteen per cent, of almost black oil, and 

 that the residue made good " cake " for cattle. When 

 refined, the oil is not inferior to fine colza, and is worth 

 29 a ton, but increases yet farther in value after it has 

 made another journey, this time to the olive-growing 

 districts of the South of Europe, where it is " doctored," 

 and then re-shipped to England as " pure olive oil." Being 

 almost tasteless, as well as nearly colourless, it is largely 

 used for frying fish, packing sardines, &c. The inferior part 

 of the oil yields hard grease, or stearine, which is employed 

 for soap-making, and the husk of the seed is useful in paper- 

 making, as well as for " cake." 



Cotton-stalks are now turned to much better account 

 than formerly, a manufacturer of Brooklyn, New York, 

 having perfected and patented a machine for reducing to 

 fibre any material of a fibrous nature. This machine is 

 now extensively worked in New York, and the cotton- 

 stalk fibre, originally intended for bagging, is now found 

 to be much too valuable, and, being almost like hemp, 

 is used for better materials. 



The waste thrown out by the machine the sticks and 

 chips from the stalk is more valuable as pulp for the 



