VARIATIONS IN THE COMPOSITION AND GRADE OP COTTONSEED 
PRODUCED IN THE STATES OP 
ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, AND TENNESSEE, 
SEASONS OF 1934-35 to 1937-38 
3y G. S. Meloy, Senior Marketing Specialist 
Cottonseed Quality Estimated 
The cottonseed-crushing industry has grown rapidly since 1870. 
In that year the industry consisted of 26 mills, which crushed only 
about 2 or 3 percent of the seed produced. The crush had grown to 
about a million tons, or 25 percent of the total production, by 1890; 
and by 1914 more than 870 mills crushed more than five million tons, 
or 80 percent of the seed produced. 
During all of this period of rapid growth in the industry, at- 
tention was centered on questions of processing technique and on im- 
provements in the quality of the products of cottonseed. Little study 
was given directly to the variable composition of the seed. Under 
such conditions, it became the general practice for crushing mills to 
estimate the average quality of the cottonseed occasionally during 
each season and to base their purchase prices on such averages. In 
addition, from time to time efforts were made by trade associations in 
the industry to set up a basis for discounting, usually based on 
adulteration or on exceptional spoilage. 
Standard Grades Established 
In 1925 the U. S. Department of Agriculture undertook a study 
of the subject. As a result, on May 23, 1932, the first standards of 
the United States for the grading of cottonseed intended for crushing 
were officially promulgated by the Secretary of Agriculture. 
These standards provided not only a basis for equitable dis- 
counts for off quality, but also a basis for equitable premiums for 
superiority. A basis grade was established, of definite description 
both as to the quantity of obtainable products and as to the condi- 
tion of the seed that would affect the costs of processing and the 
quality of the products (appendix A). 
