off because people found its flavor too strong when undiluted. Italy
imports cottonseed oil and exports her olive oil. Denmark imports
cottonseed meal and margarine and exports her butter.

Northern nations are accustomed to hard fats and do not take to oils for
cooking or table use as do the southerners. Butter and lard are
preferred to olive oil and ghee. But this does not rule out cottonseed.
It can be combined with the hard fats of animal or vegetable origin in
margarine or it may itself be hardened by hydrogen.

To understand this interesting reaction which is profoundly affecting
international relations it will be necessary to dip into the chemistry
of the subject. Here are the symbols of the chief ingredients of the
fats and oils. Please look at them.

Linoleic acid C_{18}H_{32}O_{2}
Oleic acid C_{18}H_{34}O_{2}
Stearic acid C_{18}H_{36}O_{2}

Don't skip these because you have not studied chemistry. That's why I am
giving them to you. If you had studied chemistry you would know them
without my telling. Just examine them and you will discover the secret.
You will see that all three are composed of the same elements, carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen. Notice next the number of atoms in each element as
indicated by the little low figures on the right of each letter. You
observe that all three contain the same number of atoms of carbon and
oxygen but differ in the amount of hydrogen. This trifling difference in
composition makes a great difference in behavior. The less the hydrogen
the lower the melting point. Or to say the same thing in other words,
fatty substances low in hydrogen are apt to be liquids and those with a