200 



SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



of cotton and drops them into the gin-breast, where they form a revolving 

 roll of seed cotton. On the under side of this roll are many small circular 

 saws rapidly revolving in opposite directions and cutting the lint off the 

 seed. A rapidly revolving brush takes the lint off the saws and drives it 

 into a condenser. The lint is then dropped into a large box and packed 

 into a bale of cotton, which is now ready for the market or warehouse. 



Cotton Seed. — The seed is usually sold to a cottonseed-oil mill. The 

 short lint or fuzz is cut off the seed and is called "linters." The seed is 

 then run through a mill that takes off the hulls, which are used for cattle 

 food; the kernels, or meats as they arecalled, are ground and cooked, after 



A Field of Cotton, 



which they are put in a powerful press that removes the crude oil and leaves 

 a hard yellow cake. 



The crude oil is refined and from it are obtained: (1) "summer white 

 oil," which is used in the manufacture of a compound of lard; (2) stearin, 

 used in making solid oils, etc.; and (3) a residue that is used in making 

 soap. On the dry western stock ranches, a great deal of the yellow cake is 

 fed to cattle and sheep in the winter; the cake is ground, forming what is 

 known as cottonseed meal, and is used as stock feed and commercial 

 fertilizer. Recent experiments show that specially prepared meal mixed 

 with wheat flour makes an excellent nutritious bread. 



Not many decades ago, cottonseed was a waste product on the farm, 

 but now the commercial value of the seed equals one-seventh the value of 

 the lint. 



