388 
On  Cotton  Seeds, 
(  Am.  Jomi.  Pharm. 
X    Sept.  1, 1871. 
Calculated  from  the  nitrogen  found,  the  seeds  contain  about  23 
per  cent,  and  the  kernels  about  32  per  cent,  of  protein  compounds, 
showing  the  value  of  the  press  cakes  as  feed  or  manure. 
From  3-7  to  6-78  per  cent,  of  ashes  have  been  obtained  from  the 
seeds,  2*33  per  cent,  from  the  testa,  4-3  to  8  9  from  the  kernels.  The 
amount  of  water  is  8  to  9  per  cent.  ;  of  gum  and  sugar  together  7*5 
to  14  per  cent.  The  seeds  leave  25  per  cent.,  the  kernels  only  7  per 
cent,  of  cellulose. 
Though  the  use  of  the  cotton  fibre  is  of  the  highest  antiquity,  the 
oil  of  the  seeds  was  not  employed.  It  appears  that  the  first  sugges- 
tion for  utilizing  the  oil  emanated  from  the  London  Society  for  En- 
couragement of  Arts  and  Science,  in  1785,  but,  even  in  the  United 
States,  the  oil  was  little  known  in  1856 ;  very  little  of  it  is  still  made 
in  Brazil,  and  the  amount  obtained  in  Marseilles  from  West  African 
seeds  is  not  considerable.  London  manufactures  the  most,  from  seeds 
imported  from  the  Indies  and  North  America ;  but  the  production  is 
neither  as  extensive  or  as  regular  as  it  might  be. 
The  annual  production  of  cotton  is  estimated  at  over  1000  millions 
kilogrm.,  of  which  the  United  States  produce  about  600  millions 
kilogrm.  The  author  obtained  from  two  ripe  capsules  for  1000  parts 
cotton  2520  and  1730  parts  seeds.  Alcan,  in  his  ^'  Traite  complet 
de  la  filature  du  coton,"  Paris,  1865,  states  that  the  proportion  be- 
tween cotton  and  seeds  is  very  variable,  but  that  in  the  mean  four 
parts  of  crude  cotton  yield  one  part  of  spinning  fibre,  leaving  three 
parts  for  the  seed  and  offal,  so  that  the  annual  production  of  seeds 
would  be  between  2000  and  3000  millions  kilogrm.  But  if  the  cotton 
seeds  are  estimated  only  at  1000  millions  kilogrm.,  there  might  be  ob- 
tained at  least,  150  millions  kilogrm.  of  oil.  In  Marseilles,  100 
kilogrm.  of  crude  cotton  seed  oil  are  valued  at  80  francs,  the  puri- 
fied at  105  to  110  francs  ;  the  above  quantity  would  therefore  repre- 
sent a  value  of  120  millions  of  francs.  The  500  to  700  millions 
kilogrm.  press  cakes  would  probably  have  to  be  valued  at  20  to  30 
millions  francs. 
Though  these  figures  may  appear  to  be  arbitrary,  they  serve,  at 
least,  to  show  how  much  remains  to  be  done  in  the  future  for  the 
proper  utilization  of  these  seeds. 
J.  M.  M. 
