COTTON CULTURE. 187 



necessity therefore is to find a more general use for this 

 oil, in which the cotton region so greatly abounds. As 

 an illuminator it is not equal to lard oil ; mixed with pe- 

 troleum it makes a medium lubricator ; painters have used 

 it either pure or mixed as a substitute for linseed oil ; oil 

 dealers have mixed it with lard oil, with almond, pea-nut, 

 cocoa-nut, and with olive oil ; but this surreptitious mode 

 of treating it in trade gave it a bad name in commerce, 

 and hence only small quantities found sale under the 

 name of cotton-seed oil, except to a few soap-makers, who 

 purchased it and used it in its true name and character. 



The refining process is simple, and, after a little practice, 

 may be successfully conducted by any one possessed of ordi- 

 nary skill. The agent employed to remove the impurities 

 is a solution of the soda ash of commerce, having a 

 strength of about 30 degrees. The oil is put into a large 

 metal tank, supplied with steam pipes for heating, and 

 with proper apparatus to keep the oil thoroughly agitated. 

 The caustic solution and the oil, when mixed, should be 

 at the temperatilre of the atmosphere in the factory, and 

 about one gallon of the solution should be put into ten 

 gallons of oil, mixed in 'small quantities, at intervals of a 

 few minutes. The mixture should then be slowly heated 

 up to 100 degrees, then allowed to cool. During the 

 pouring in of the solution, and while the mixture is being 

 heated, and until the temperature has gone down nearly 

 to its natural state, the stirring apparatus should be kept 

 in motion. The oil should then be left in the tank at 

 least 24 hours, that the impurities may settle to the bot- 

 tom ; then, by a faucet inserted at a distance of several 

 inches from the bottom, the refined oil may be drawn into 

 a wooden tank placed in the basement, where it will sink 

 to a still lower temperature, and deposit a purer sediment 

 in the bottom of the tank. If the process has been con- 

 ducted with care, the refined oil will be perfectly clear, 

 and of a rich olive color. The price of this quality of oil 



