12 BULLETIN 1056, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



of seed when delinted would weigh about 27f pounds and measure 

 only approximately four-fifths of a bushel. However, it would still 

 contain the same number of seeds (120,000) and have the same or a 

 greater planting capacity. Also it should be remembered that if 30 

 pounds (a bushel measure) of gin-run seed contain 120,000 seeds, 

 30 pounds of delinted seed contain approximately 130,000 seeds and 

 have a proportionately greater planting capacity, although they may 

 not fill a bushel measure. The number of seeds per pound or per 

 bushel varies with the different varieties of cotton, some of which 

 have much larger seeds than others, but a given number of delinted 



seeds, regardless of variety, weigh from 5 

 to 10 per cent less and are from 10 to 20 

 per cent less bulky than an equal number 

 of gin-run seeds of the same variety. 



APPEARANCE OF DELINTED SEED. 



The delinted seeds have a more brown- 

 ish appearance than gin-run seeds and 

 fig. 5.— cotton seed cut or some may be so closely delinted that the 



broken by saws in delint- , , . , ,, , . . ,, --,-, , , -, 



ing. Natural size. black hull shows partially as illustrated 



figure 6. Rarely, however, do they have 

 the appearance of " slick seed " and there is no basis for the conten- 

 tion that the slick appearance of the seeds would cause farmers to be 

 skeptical regarding the purity as to variety. Neither can delinting 

 be construed as a cloak which might be used by unscrupulous dealers 

 to hide inferior qualities. On the other hand, it should help indirectly 

 to minimize the number of dealers in this class or reduce greatly the 

 comparative volume of their business. The poorest quality of gin-run 

 cotton seed sold for planting purposes would be improved by delint- 

 ing and subsequent recleaning and grading. It is not intended that 

 delinting should take the place of breeding, selecting, or any other 

 phase of improving the value or productiveness of cotton seed, but 

 that it should supplement these methods and make the most care- 

 fully bred or selected cotton seed of still greater value for planting 

 purposes. 



RECLEANING AND GRADING. 



Modern and specially designed machinery is provided by all pro- 

 gressive dealers for recleaning and grading seeds of grains, clovers, 

 grasses, and other field and forage crops, but seed of cotton, the all- 

 important money crop of the South, has not received in this respect 

 the attention by commercial agencies that it deserves. This indiffer- 

 ence may be partly because of the fact that the necessity for and 

 value of recleaning and grading cotton seed have not been realized 



