1 Ocr., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 267 
THE AMERICAN CROP. 
The cotton crop of 1898 in America is the largest_yet recorded, but it does 
not necessarily follow that the crush of seed will exceed past records. The 
crushing conditions in America are not identical with those which obtain in this 
country. Considerable expense attaches to the carriage of the seed from the 
plantation to the mills, and if the prices offered by the crushers to the planters 
are not sufficient to coverexpenses and leave a margin of profit, the planters prefer 
to utilise the seed for purposes of fertilising and fuel. A certain proportion 
of the seed is invariably required for manure, whereas in Egypt the Nile is the 
sole fertiliser. The prices which crushers offer are regulated by the values of 
the seed-products ; these, therefore, are the real factors which govern the size 
of the crush. ‘he general practice in America is to “ hull” the seed, which 
consists in removing the hulls or outer shells prior to crushing. In England 
this practice is not followed, and the quality of the oil consequently suffers to 
some extent. But the hulls are used for feeding purposes, as well as the 
farinaceous matter which, when crushed, is known as cotton-seed meal. 
THE USES OF COTTON-OIL IN AMERICA 
depend upon a variety of circumstances. Jive years ago, when hogs were 
scarce and lard was dear, fully half the quantity of oil extracted from the seed 
was used in lard gubstitutes. Since that time, however, cheap maize 
having stimulated the rearing of hogs, the value of lard has fallen materially, 
thus curtailing very considerably the use of cotton-oilinlard compounds. Any 
material advance in the prices of lard would at once re-stimulate this trade, 
and create a large demand for cotton-oil as a substitute for lard. The American 
make of cotton-oil goes into a variety of commodities, comprising compound lard, 
margarine, and cottolene; it is extensively used for salad and culinary 
purposes, for packing sardines, and, particularly, for soap-making. It 
is also used both in America and Togland for adulterating higher-priced 
lubricating oils. Both in Europe and America the price of tallow has a direct 
bearing upon the value of cotton-oil for soap-making. American refined 
oil finds a ready market on the Continent of Europe, where the quality 
is held in highesteem. Shipments from the United States to France have in 
recent years been of great and growing magnitude, and French erushers both 
of cotton-seed and brown nuts have in consequence suffered very severely by 
the competition. Efforts, so far unavailing, have been and are being made in 
France to promote legislative action designed to curtail, if not to kill, the import 
trade by means of prohibitive duties. Were it not for the tariff-wall which shuts 
out refined cotton-oil from Italy, the peasants of that country would use it in 
enormous quantities for edible purposes. And Spain, the country of the olive, 
has been obliged to protect that importantindustry from certain demoralisation 
by enacting that a gallon of creosote shall be put into every barrel of cotton- 
oil which enters her dominions.— British Trade Review. 
WHOLE CORN IN THE SILO. 
Ty filling whole corn into the silo, it is obvious that the corn should not be 
laid with butts all one way, but after one course is laid the next should follow 
with the butts lying on the heads of the first course. A writer to the Rural 
New Yorker says :— 
I lay in courses one way, and then the next layer opposite. The broken 
stalks, leaves, &c., are jammed into the corners, or driven in with a wooden 
beetle. 1 do not rush in filling, as I like to have it settle as much as possible 
in the filling process. At the end of the week, on Saturday, I place planks on 
the corn in order to get more pressure. Monday, we go at the filling again, 
if the weather permits. If not, we wait for a fair day. I keep filling in this 
way until the corn is about 6 or 8 inches above the top. I wait for it to settle 
