COTTONSEED MEALS COMPARED. 73 



many more would be found if the inspection laws did not drive 

 them out. In spite of the laws, occasionally bad lots may appear, 

 and it is essential that the farmer should be able in a measure to 

 tell the quality of goods himself. The first thing for him to look 

 for is the guarantee tag, required by law, giving the name of the 

 manufacturer and composition of the goods. A first-class 

 cottonseed meal should contain over 40 per cent protein and 

 about 9 per cent fat. It should be a light yellow color. If it 

 is dark in color with many fine black specks, it indicates that 

 ground hulls have been added. If it is a rusty brown color, it 

 indicates that the meal is old or the material has at some time 

 undergone fermentation. Such meals are not safe to use. The 

 texture of the meal should be about the same as finely ground 

 corn meal, and it should be practically free from cotton lint. 

 The presence and amount of lint can be determined by sifting 

 a portion in a flour or meal sieve. The cotton fiber will remain 

 in the sieve. The lint and hulls are also quite easily detected by 

 stirring the meal up with water. Put one teaspoonful in half a 

 glass of water, mix thoroughly and allow the mixture to stand 

 a few minutes to settle. The black hulls will be found on the 

 bottom and can be seen through the glass. The good meal will 

 be in the next layer and the lint on top. A first-class meal 

 should show only a few black hulls and scarcely any lint. 



An expert can judge very well of the quahty of cottonseed 

 meal by means of tasting. The best fresh meals have a very 

 ag'oeable nutty flavor not found in inferior goods. The pres- 

 ence of much fiber is readily noted by the sense of touch in the 

 mouth. The absence of the nutty flavor and the presence of a 

 rancid taste indicates that the meal is old. 



DIEEERENT GRADES OE COTTONSEED MEAL. 



Roughly speaking, the meals which are in the market can be 

 divided into four groups. 



A. The high grade meal, carrying 43 or more per cent pro- 

 tein ; bright yellow in appearance, free from cotton and hull, and 

 with a sweet nutty flavor. 



B. A dark colored cottonseed meal, analyzing not very dif- 

 ferently from the preceding, but made from seed that has under- 

 gone more or less fermentation. , 



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