MARKETING COTTONSEED FOR PLANTING PURPOSES 5 
means of improving the physical condition of the most carefully 
bred and selected cottonseed, and nothing in this discussion should be 
construed as approving the sale of oil-mill seed for planting pur- 
poses, even though it may be delinted. Stocks of seed at oil mills 
are of their very nature badly mixed, and in many cases represent 
lots which have been discarded by reputable dealers and breeders. 
AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES 
The delinting process offers decided possibilities for bettering 
agricultural practice. It promotes a uniform stand of plants by en- 
abling the seed to germinate more quickly and with the aid of less 
moisture. In ginned seed, regardless of variety or stain, there 
is usually a wide variation in the quantity of lint left on the in- 
dividual seeds, as is shown in Figure 1, a and c. When planted the 
seeds with the shortest lint on them come into closer contact with the 
soil moisture and germinate more quickly than those containing ex- 
cessive lint. The delinted seeds, containing a small, uniform quantity 
of very short lint or fuzz (Fig. 1, b and d), germinate at practically 
the same time and produce a more nearly perfect stand of plants 
at least two or three days earlier. This is of value in growing 
cotton in the presence of the boll weevil, because every day gained 
in getting the plants above the ground increases the prospects of 
obtaining a profitable yield. Delinting materially assists in the 
emergence of cotton seedlings. In germinating the seed coat is forced 
up through the soil on the cotyledons of the cotton seedlings, and a 
closely delinted seed offers less resistance than ginned seed. Also the 
united action of the young plants resulting from the simultaneous 
germination of the delinted seeds enables them to break through 
soil that has been compacted by rains with comparatively little dif- 
ficulty and helps to insure a stand of plants under adverse conditions. 
Delinting effects an economy in the use of cottonseed, as planting 
machines will distribute a smaller quantity per acre more uniformly. 
It will eliminate the necessity of a force feed in planting machines 
and facilitate the single-seed distribution and the planting of cotton- 
seed in hills. The thin, uniform stand made possible by the use of 
delinted seed also may help to simplify the culture of cotton by what 
is known as the single-stalk method, 6 which, repeated experiments 
show, 7 produces the highest yields and earliest maturity. 
COST OF DELENTING 
The cost of delinting, which on first thought may be expected to be 
excessive, is small per unit. It necessarily varies with the capacity 
of the plant and the quantity of seed handled or the number of days 
the plant is operated during a season. A plant may be installed in 
a dealer's warehouse and operated separately or installed and oper- 
ated in connection with a ginnery. The kind of machine used is the 
same as that for delinting cottonseed for oil manufacture and is 
illustrated in Figure 2. Based on careful estimates submitted by 
8 Cook, o. f. a new system of cotton culture and its application. U. S. Dept. 
Agr., Farmers' Bulletin 601 193 I. 
7 CAEDON, F. V. EXPERIMENTS WITH SINGLE-STALE COTTON CULTURE IX LOUISIANA. 
ARKANSAS, AM) NORTH CAROLINA. F. S. Dept. AgT. Bill. 526. 1918. 
Meade, R. M. single-stalk cotton culture at ban antonto. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 
279. 1915. 
