Vol. VII. Xo. 15G. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



119 



CACAO CULTIVATION IN ST. KITT'S- 

 NEVIS 



Some attention has during the past year or two 

 been paid to cacao cultivation in St. Kitt's-Nevis, and 

 the accompanj'ing notes in reference to the subject are 

 taken from the recently issued Aiinaal Report on tlie 

 Botanic Station of the presidency: — 



The cultivation of cacao at Molineux estate [St. Kitt's] has 

 been considerably extended during the year and there are now 

 some 2"2 acres under cultivation. The first planted trees are 

 doing well and give promise of this ftx'perinienl lieLng a great 

 success. The cultivation is being extended to lower levels, 

 and in one instance one of the cane fields is being planted in 

 cacao. Suitable wind-breaks are being planted to protect 

 the young trees, as without these it would be impossible to 

 grow thein in this position. 



In Xevis, the cacao cultivation on .Maddens estate has 

 developed, and there are some -tO acres in cultivation. Great 

 attention has been paid to this new industry by those in 

 charge of the estate, and the condition of the trees generally 

 does them credit. A small crop will soon be obtained from 

 the first planted trees, which are about five years "Id. As 

 this estate has abandoned cane cultivation, the addition of 

 a new and remunerative industry must add very nnicli to tlie 

 value of the estate, and it is also a most useful nbject- 

 les.son as to the chances of growing cacao in such p'aces in 

 Nevis. 



CASTOR OIL PLANT. 



Since the castor oil jjlant (Ririims i-ani iiniiiis) 

 is very common throughout the West Indies, efforts 

 have occasionally been made in "some of the islands, 

 notably in .St. Lucia and Jamaica, to encourage its 

 cultivation. In the latter island its cultivation h.as 

 been urged on account of the fact that the resulting 

 oil was desired for the manufacture of soap. As pointed 

 out in a recent number of the Agr'tcidtural News 

 (Vol. VI, p. S89), castor oil has of late found such 

 numerous applications in the arts and industries, apart 

 from its use in medicine and as an illuminating and 

 lubricating agent, that the demand for this product 

 is certain to increase. 



In order to supplement the information contained 

 in the above-mentioned article, the accompanying 

 particulars in regard to the cultivation of the plant, 

 and the preparation of the oil have been abstracced 

 from an article in a late number of the Cape of Good 

 Hope Agr'uidturul Journal : — 



The castor oil plant is hardy, and thrives well in most 

 situations. It prefers diy soil.s, and being an exhaustive 

 crop to the land, demands good preparatory cultivation. 

 The land should be deeply ploughed and subse(|uentiy 

 harrowed. This is necessary, as the plant makes an 

 enormous root growth in a short .space'of time. 



The seed is .sown in rows which are -5 or (> feet ai)art, the 

 seeds being placed about this same distance apart in the rows. 

 They quickly germinate, and in warm climates the plant 

 may grow too rapidly, with the result that a large wood 

 growth is formed, to the detriment of seed production. To 

 avoid this, the main stem of the plant should be pinched back 

 .so as to increase the bearing surface. 



Harvest sea.son arrives about ^ix months after the seeds 

 have been .sown. As previously mentioned, the spikes bearing 



the capsules are gathered and spread in a shed, lieing 

 occasionally turned until the capsules have all burst and 

 shed the enclosed l,eans. 



The yield o!>tained varies between 20 and 30 bushels f>f 

 seed (900 to 1,.'?.^0 lb.) per acre, although it is stated that in 

 Texas and Florida a return of as much as 58 bushels to the 

 acre is freiptentlj- given. As to the amount of oil obtainable, 

 seed often shows an analysis of .">0 to 60 per cent., but the 

 mill yield more fretjuently ranges only from 33 to 40 per 

 cent, of the weight of the seed. The American standard is 

 4i gallons of oil from 112 It), of seed. 



In the process of extraction of the oil, the first step is 

 to I'emovc the hull or seed coat The beans are passed 

 through suitable machinery, which cracks the hulls and these 

 are afterwards removed by winnowing. The operation of 

 removing; the husks is one which requires considerable care. 

 The cold-pressure method of exjire.ssing the oil is the 

 most costly, on account of the expensive machinery required, 

 but the rc'sulting oil is of the best (piality. By this method 

 the beans arc cru.slied to a mash after the removal of the 

 husk. This mash is then placed in small bags, which are piled 

 one above the other with plates of steel between them. The 

 room is kept warm, and on subjecting the pile to pressure, the 

 oil oozes slowly out. After standing for a few days it is 

 filtered through linen into bottles or drums. 



In another method, the seeds, after the husk has been 

 removed, are [ilaced in hempen bags, and great pressure is 

 brought to bear uiion thvm by means of screw or hydraulic 

 pres.ses. The exi>re.ssed oil is then boiled to separate the 

 albumen ami mucilage. The impurities are skimmed otf, and 

 the oil is sijihoned from the vessel and carefolly filtered 

 through Hannel. 



The usual jirice of castor oil for lubricating pur[)0ses is 

 from 2.« 9^^. to 3.f. ])er gallon. Thus, taking the figures 

 mentioned above (900 to l,3.'50 lb.) as representing an 

 average yield, the retuin from a castor oil crop would l)e 

 worth from i'T to £10 10s. [ler acre, exclusive of the 

 residual oil-cake, which forms nn excellent manure. 



Jhese figures are, however, only approximate, and if the 

 oil were extracted by the cold-pressure method described, it 

 would lie suitable for medicinal purposes, and would 

 conseipicntl> I'oniinand a liiglier price. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial (.'ommissioner o{ Agiiculture left 

 B.irb.idos in R M.S. ' Esk ' on April 14, on an official 

 visit to (irenad.-i and St. Vincent and is expected to 

 return in R.RI.S. ' Eden ' on Apiil 21 next. It is prob- 

 able that the Imperial Commissioner will proceed on 

 an official ^isit to the Leeward Islands in S. S. 

 'Dahome'on Apiil 21, and return in K.M.S. ' E'len 'on 

 May .5 next. 



Mr. H. A. Brdlou, M Sc. Entomologist on the slafif 

 of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, returned 

 to Barbados from Antigua b}- the R.M.S. ' Eden ' 

 on April 7. 



On the rccommeml.rtion of the Imperial Commis- 

 sioner of Agriculture, Mr. Thomas Worm, Deputy Mana- 

 ger ofCarrington Pl.intation at Barbados, has been 

 selected for the post of Agricultural Instructor on the 

 staff of the Local Dci)artment of Agriculture in the 

 colony of ,St. Lucia. 



