294 Notice of Gas from Cotton Seed. 
the liquor, dried and calcined, it weighed 0.0175, equal to 
0.012 gramme of metallic iron. 
Hence we have for result— 
Iron, - - - - - 0.0120 
Silexiy = - - - - 0.0025 
Loss, = - - “ - 0.0105 
Gm. 0.0250 
From the results obtained, it is very evident that this 
product of the fusion of charcoal must consist merely of the 
impurities contained in the charcoal, and is not a fuston of 
its carbon, as has been supposed ; moreover, it must con- 
sist chiefly of iron, for its lustre, its being acted upon by a 
file in the manner aforementioned, its great malleability, 
&c. &c. preclude all idea of any considerable intermixture 
of other substances with it. The great lossin the analysis 
is due to the violent action of the nitric acid upon it, (the 
capsule being small,) aiso to the filing of the same, and to 
the great difficulty of correctly operating upon so small a 
quantity of matter.* 
Art. XXII.—Notice of illuminating Gas from Cotton Seed ; 
by Professor Denison OtmsteD, of Chapel Hill, N.C. . 
Ir is well known to the inhabitants of the southern 
States that in all the cotton districts, a vast quantity of 
cotton seed is annually accumulated, forming a useless, 
and in many instances, an offensive and noxious pile 
around the cotton gins. For this article, no important 
use has been hitherto discovered. Some limited and im- 
perfect attempts have been made to obtain the oil with 
which it is known to abound; but the absorbent nature of 
the rind that envelopes the seed, and more especially of the 
cotton that obstinately adheres to it, after it has passed 
through the process for cleaning, has proved a great ob- 
stacle to the success of this operation. A small quantity 
is given to cattle, and a greater quantity is applied to land 
as amanure. ‘Though it is very fertilizing at first, yet on 
account of its rapid decomposition, its powers are speedi- 
ly lost. 
* Vide p. 147 of this Vol. for the Editor’s reply. 
