Edible Products. 388 [Nov. 1906. 



COTTONSEED OIL AND MEAL AS A HUMAN FOOD. 

 In June, 1905, it was my pleasure to bring to the attention of the Texas 

 cottonseed crushers at their annual convention a few self-evident truths concerning 

 the value of cottonseed meal as a breadstuff. Since that time my interest in the 

 subject has steadily increased, and some very practical facts have been developed. 

 In my experience with cottonseed meal as a breadstuff no disappointment has been 

 encountered. I invite your critical judgment on the samples of cottonseed meal 

 bread and cake distributed for your information and possible approval. I trust that 

 you will find these specimens pleasant to the palate and entirely free from any 

 objectionable taste or odour. But at the outset it should be clearly understood that 

 cottonseed meal should never be used alone in bread making. In fact, pure cotton- 

 seed meal bread is a scientific absurdity, however practicable it may be from 

 a culinary standpoint. Its composition would closely resemble cheese, being over 

 rich in protein, and having no parallel in the world's food supplies. A combination of 

 cottonseed meal with other recognized bread stuffs will greatly enrich the flours and 

 meals now in use, while at the same time decreasing their cost to the consuming 

 public. Within a short time I trust that the cottonseed crushers of the South may 

 be able to announce the actual discovery of 4,500,000 tons of a new breadstuff fit for 

 human consumption. If so, this material will approximate in quantity and far 

 exceed in value the wheat crop of the largest wheat growing State in this country. 



VALUE OF COTTONSEED 



Let us consider for a moment cottonseed meal, its origin, its composition, its 

 value. This golden product is safely wrapped by "Dame Nature" in a wooden 

 cradle that we call the hull, and here in the womb of the plant, hermetically sealed 

 with five waterproof coverings, there is elaborated the richest of all feed stuffs and 

 bread stuffs. This insures cleanliness and freedom from disease, but to make assur- 

 ance doubly sure, we find that during the process of manufacturing the meats, the 

 whole mass of meal is sterilized by thorough cooking in order to more perfectly 

 express the oil. We will next compare its nutritive value with corn flour and corn 

 meal. These are chiefly valuable for their protein, but we find that cottonseed meal 

 contains three times as much digestible x^rotein as the highest grade of wheat flour 

 or the best breakfast food now upon the ma rket. Stated percentagely we find that 

 the nutrients run as follows : — 



NUTRITIVE COMPOSITION OP STANDARD BREADSTUPPS. 



(Pounds per hundredweight.) 



First patent flour 

 First clear grade flour 

 Corn meal ... 

 Cottonseed meal 



The yellow colour of cottonseed meal is due to a substance known to chemists 

 as gossypin. It affords a golden yellow dye for both silk and wool. The protein 

 n our cottonseed meal, according to the Connecticut Station, consists largely of 

 globulin, " agreeing in composition and general properties with the vitellin obtained 

 from the seeds of wheat, maize, etc." Sugar is found in cottonseed meal as deter- 

 mined by German investigators which can be extracted with warm alcohol, obtaining 

 about 3 per cent, of crystallizable material. To this sugar Bahm gave the name 

 gossypose. 



The above facts should encourage the scientists as wv'l as the oil mill 

 interests to press the introduction of cottonseed meal as a bread stuff upon the 

 attention of our people. Will the government help ? There is literally nothing 

 in print from our English-speaking scientists to show that any investigations have 









Carbohy- 





Water. 



Protein. 



Fat. 



drates. 



Ash. 



10.5 



... 11.8 



. 1.1 



... 76.8 .. 



. 0.37 



10.3 



.. 13.7 



. 2.2 



... 73.1 .. 



. 0.80 



10.6 



.. 10.3 



. 5.0 



... 70.4 .. 



. 1.50 



8.2 



.. 42.3 



13.1 



... 30.0 .. 



. 7.2 



