THE USES OF COTTON 483 



feeding to cattle. About 850 pounds of hulls are obtained 

 from a ton of whole seed. The meats comprise about 1,100 

 pounds of each ton of seed. 



After the hulls are removed, the meats are cooked for 

 about twenty minutes to melt the oil and to drive off a part 

 of the water. The oil is then extracted under pressure, a ton 

 of seed yielding about 300 pounds, or 40 gallons, of crude oil. 

 A large number of different grades of oil are obtained by 

 various processes of refining and filtering, and from these 

 many products and compounds are made. Cotton-seed oil 

 is used for cooking, either alone or in combination with 

 animal fats, as lard and butter substitutes such as cottolene 

 and oleomargarine. Some of the grades of oil are used as 

 substitutes for olive and peanut oils and for medicinal pur- 

 poses, while others are largely used in the manufacture of 

 soaps. The meats from which the oil has been pressed are 

 ground into meal, this product being known as cotton-seed 

 meal. 



Cotton-seed meal is utilized as a fertilizer and as a feed 

 for live stock. As a fertilizer, it is rich in nitrogen and 

 also contains some potash and phosphoric acid. It is com- 

 monly used in the fertilization of all crops throughout the 

 South. As a stock feed, it is most largely fed to cattle and 

 sheep. It contains 37.6 per cent of digestible protein and 

 9.6 per cent of fat, so that it is one of the most concentrated 

 feeds. Cotton-seed meal is largely exported, it being in 

 much favor among dairymen and other feeders of live stock 

 in England and elsewhere. 



634. Uses of the Stalks. Little use has yet been made 

 of the stalks of cotton, though cattle will eat the young bolls, 

 leaves, and smaller stems if turned into the field after the 

 crop is picked. The stalks may be cut with a stalk cutter 

 and plowed under or they may be burned. Plowing them 



