THE PRODUCTION OF CORN OIL. 23 



seems improbable, however, and at the most would doubtless be 

 only temporary. As to the utilization of corn oil, the consensus of 

 opinion among those who are in position to know seems to be that 

 within a few years the oil will be used almost entirely for edible 

 purposes, except only that wliich is of such poor quality as to make its 

 refining unprofitable. The sale of the oil in retail packages will very 

 likeh r be further developed, and its use by bakers is also likely to 

 increase. The amount of corn oil used for edible purposes in the 

 future will be determined by the quantity available rather than by 

 any question as to its utility. At the present time some bakers, 

 while admitting that it is suitable for their products, use cottonseed 

 oil because the supply of corn oil fluctuates so that it is not always 

 obtainable in sufficient quantities. Although the supply is even now 

 inadequate it is liable to become more so in the immediate future 

 because of the decline in the brewing of beer. The elimination of 

 the breweries removes one of the principal markets for hominy grits 

 and flakes, and therefore the milling of degerminated corn is likely 

 to decrease. As previously stated, several plants shut down in the 

 winter of 1919. This was due in part, however, to the fact that at 

 the close of the war there was on hand an oversupply of corn meal 

 and flour. According to Baile}^ and Reuter, 1 there w~as a decrease in 

 1918 of 7,000,000 pounds of corn oil, and the 1919 production may 

 show a further decrease. It is certain that the demand in this 

 country for corn meal and flour is not sufficient to make a steady 

 market for such products. In the Southern States, where the use 

 of corn products is much more general than in other sections of the 

 country, the supply is largely derived from mills which do not deger- 

 minate the corn and hence produce no oil. It must not be under- 

 stood, however, that the elimination of the breweries entirely removes 

 the market for brewers' grits, for in the manufacture of nonalcoholic 

 cereal beverages the same material is required, but this market 

 already exists, and there would need to be a great increase in the 

 consumption of such beverages to make up for the decline resulting 

 from the discontinuance of beer brewing. The economic situation 

 with regard to sugar also may be an important factor. The increased 

 demand for corn sirups and other saccharine products may result in 

 an increased milling of determinated corn. 



i Op. cit., p. 1. 



WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1920 



