188 COTTON CULTURE. 



before the war rated at from sixty to seventy-five cents 

 per gallon. 



The ground seed, from which the oil has been expressed, 

 is known to commerce as " cotton-seed cake," and is con- 

 sumed principally in feeding cattle. It is classed by gen- 

 eral feeders with linseed cake, though chemists and scien- 

 tific dairymen claim for it a superiority. When fed to 

 milch cows, it increases the quantity and improves the 

 quality of the milk ; it is a rapid flesh former, and the 

 manure of the stock yard where cotton seed meal is fed 

 is of a very superior quality. 



The following observations were made by Professor 

 Voelcker, of England, on the result of an analysis of sev- 

 eral specimens of thin decorticated American cotton-seed 

 cake: 



1st. The proportion of oil in all the specimens is higher 

 than in the best linseed cake, in which it is rarely more 

 than 12 per cent., and 10 per cent, may be taken as aver- 

 age. As a supplier of food, cotton-cake is therefore supe- 

 rior to linseed-cake. 



2d. The amount of oil in the several specimens differs 

 to the extent of 5-|- per cent. say from No. 7, 13.50, to 

 No. 2, 19.19. 



3d. Decorticated cake contains a very high and much 

 larger percentage of flesh-forming matters than linseed- 

 cake, and it is therefore proper to give to young stock and 

 milch cows. The dung, also, is very valuable. 



4th. In comparison with linseed, there is much less 

 mucilage and other respiratory matter in cotton-cake. 

 This is compensated by the larger amount of oil. 



5th. The proportion of indigestible woody fibre in de- 

 corticated cotton-cake is very small, and not larger than 

 in the best linseed-cake! 



6th, And lastly, it may be observed that the ash of 



