OFFICIAL INSPECTIONS 72. IO9 



Prime Cotton Seed Meal must be finely ground, not neces- 

 sarily bolted, of sweet odor, reasonably bright in color, — 

 yellow, not brown or reddish, — free from excess of lint, and 

 must contain at least thirty-eight and six-tenths (38.6) per 

 cent of protein. 



Good Cotton Seed Meal must be finely ground, not neces- 

 sarily bolted, of sweet odor, reasonably bright in color and 

 must contain at least thirty-six (36) per cent of protein. 



Cotton Seed Feed is a mixture of cotton seed meal and 

 cotton seed hulls containing less than 36 per cent of protein. 



The division of cotton seed meals into the recognized grades 

 of choice, prime, and good has little bearing on the cotton seed 

 situation in Maine, for most of the shippers sending meal into 

 this State evade the necessity of living up to the definitions ot 

 the various grades by selling on the basis of the protein con- 

 tent only, and with few exceptions neither labeling nor invoic- 

 ing as choice, prime or good. In other words, they can, and 

 do, ship meal as 41 per cent meal which, through being off in 

 color, for instance, might not classify as choice; for while 

 choice meal carries 41 per cent protein, 41 per cent meal is 

 not necessarily choice. 



Most of the cotton seed shippers have two brands — not choice 

 and prime, but analagous to those two grades — guaranteed 

 about 41 per cent and about 38^ per cent respectively. In case 

 a sample of cottonseed meal guaranteed 41 per cent, protein is 

 examined and found to carry less than that amount, the dealer 

 handling the meal is notified that its sale in Maine under that 

 brand and guaranty is unlawful. This, of course, leaves him 

 with a supply of the goods on hand to dispose of in some way. 

 Occasionally, if the car has not yet been unloaded, the goods 

 are reshipped out of the State. More frequently at the request 

 of the dealer or the shipper or both, the dealer is allowed to 

 sell the remainder of the lot provided he will remove the 41 per 

 cent tags and replace them with tags of the shipper's lower 

 grade meal. Similar arrangements for retagging 38 1-2 per 

 cent meal found below that guaranty have also been made. It 

 is to take care of such cases that the meals guaranteed about 

 35 or 36 per cent protein have been registered. This retagging 

 is allowed only to enable the, dealer to lawfully dispose of 

 goods left on his hands, and in no zvay has it any bearing on 



