PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION OF FATS AND OILS. 13 
manufacturers of the North. It is invariably refined before being 
used for food, as the crude oil has a very dark-red color, and con- 
tains substances which rapidly develop a disagreeable flavor and pro- 
duce rancidity in a comparatively short time. 
HOW TO INCREASE THE OUTPUT. 
After the farmer has made his contribution toward increasing the 
supply of cottonseed oil, by raising more cotton and offering only 
good seed, the responsibility for greater production passes on to 
the operators of the gins, crude mills, and refineries. The cotton 
ginner and the oil manufacturer now very generally recognize the 
fact that not all seed can be made to yield a good oil. The annual loss 
of oil from neglect in the proper cleaning and storing of cotton seed 
is enormous. Partly because of the keen competition between 
buyers of the seed and partly because seed consisting largely of water 
and trash commands nearly the same price as good seed, little atten- 
tion has been given to developing methods for the effective removal of 
impurities at the gins, or for keeping the seed dry until pressed. 
Dirty seed has a tendency to hold more moisture than clean seed, and 
wet seed heats rapidly, causing the oil contained in it to become ran- 
cid, which makes it fit only for use as soap stock. 
Some idea of the total annual loss of edible cottonseed oil may be 
gained from the reports of the Bureau of the Census. During the 
1916 crushing season, the 10-months' period ending April 20, 1917, 
1,161,591,332 pounds of crude cottonseed oil were refined. From 
this 1,080,636,014 pounds of refined oil were produced, a refining 
loss of over 7 J per cent. By decreasing this loss even 1 per cent, 
on the basis of crude oil handled, over 10,000,000 pounds of oil 
would have been saved, or nearly eight times as much as the total 
amount of olive oil produced in the United States during the same 
period. It is not fair, however, to assume that the difference be- 
tween the amount of crude oil entering a refinery and the finished 
product represents a total loss, for the by-product, known as soap 
stock, is used in making soap, and yields a small amount of glycerin. 
Naturally a great deal of attention has been given to the elimin- 
ation of losses in both the crude-oil mills and the refineries. It is 
still possible, however, to increase the amount of oil obtainable 
from cotton seed at several points in the process. For instance, in 
the hydraulic mills the cakes used to fill the boxes in the press are 
sometimes so long that the ends are not properly pressed. This re- 
duces the yield of oil unless the soft ends are cut off and re-pressed. 
Again, an excessive amount of meal is allowed to run into the stor- 
age tanks with the oil. After such meal has collected for a time it 
becomes rancid, and makes the oil sour. In the refineries manv 
