4 BULLETIN 1056, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
If it does not mean a larger net profit to the farmer by promoting 
more economical production or a greater yield, the increased cost is 
not justified. On the other hand, when it is evident that a process 
or method of improving the physical condition of cottonseed en- 
hances its value for planting purposes, it is incumbent on the dealer 
to use the process. A reduction of 120,000 tons in the annual seeding 
requirement and a saving of 50,000,000 pounds of linters, now a 
total waste, for industrial purposes would result through the more 
thorough and uniform removal of the surplus lint and the culling 
out of all extraneous matter and small and lightweight inferior seed 
by the application of such methods as are now available. 
GINNING 
The first mechanical operation affecting the appearance and physi- 
cal condition of cottonseed is ginning. 4 Improvements in ginning 
machinery during recent years enable the operator to produce much 
cleaner seed than formerly. Most of the sand, dirt, burs, and other 
foreign material is removed automatically. The modernly equipped 
gin plant, however, will not turn out seed in the best, condition 
unless a thoroughly competent operator is in charge and unless the 
cotton to be ginned is fully matured and dry. There are thousands 
of gins in the Cotton Belt, but relatively few skilled operators who 
appreciate the importance of improving the physical condition and 
preserving the varietal purity and identity of cottonseed to be used 
or sold for planting purposes. 
No attempt should be made to gin cotton that is " green " or that 
has become damp, as it is difficult to prevent the seed from such cot- 
ton from becoming " heated " in storage. An important precaution- 
ary measure which always should be kept in mind is the prevention 
of the admixture of varieties at the gin. Before changing from one 
variety to another the roll box should be emptied and, together with 
the flues, feeders, conveyers, and bins, should be thoroughly cleaned. 
This factor has been discussed fully in previous publications of the 
United States Department of Agriculture. 5 
DELINTING 
Delinting is one of the most important factors essential to the 
preparation of the ideal planting cottonseed. It is evident that any 
process which removes the surplus lint without impairing the germi- 
nation is of prime importance in the improvement of cottonseed for 
planting purposes, and the same interest should be manifested in de- 
linting as in maintaining the purity of variety, trueness to t}^pe, or 
other factors pertaining to the cotton from which the seed is selected. 
From a commercial point of view delinting offers dealers an op- 
portunity to improve the quality and intrinsic value of their product 
and to maintain the grade of it at a higher level than the average 
farmers' stock or what is termed " gin-run " seed. 
The process of delinting is a mechanical one, the same as that 
employed in cottonseed-oil mills. It is advocated as a mechanical 
4 Mblot, G. S. cotton ginning. U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bulletin 1465. 1925. 
5 Saunders, D. A., and Cardon, P. V. custom ginning as a factor in cottonseed 
deterioration. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 288. 1915. 
Ballard, W. W., and Doyle, C. B. cottonseed mixing increased rt modern gin 
equipment. U. S. Dept. Agr. Dept. Cir. 205. 1922. 
