504 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1884. 



THE CASTOR OIL PLANT. 



At the last meeting of the Agri-Hortioultural Society 

 there was read a letter from Surgeon-General Sborth, 

 dated Yercaud, 28th September, 1S83, stating that 

 he sends some uotea on tlie castor oil plant, » hich to 

 make it a complete paper must be amalgamated with 

 the printed note, most of which is extracted from 

 " Drury's UsefulPla-.itP." P>ead the following notes of the 

 subject by Doctor Shortt : — "The castor oil plant {liicin- 

 us communis) being synonymous with Palma Christi and 

 Penladaclylon (from the shaiie of its leaves) belongs to 

 a genus of apeta'ous dijcotiilidonous plants, of the natural 

 order Biiphoibiacea'. The Greeks calk d it crotou. a name 

 now applied to a closely aliied genu--. The Komans re- 

 marking the striking resemblance in the seeds to the 

 vile insect known as the„tick which infests living anim- 

 als, named it £icmus, wh'ch name in Entomology is 

 used for a genus of Acari containing the creature 

 called Tick. 



"There are several vai-ielies of castor oil plant. Re- 

 cently some foreign varieties have been introduced 

 from Italy chiefly. They may now be seen growing 

 on the Government Farm, Sydapet. 



"The known varieties at present are: — 



1. Kicinus communis, fructus major (Lamp Oil). 



2. Do. do. minor (Castor Oil). 

 S. Do. do. major Var. rubra. 



4. Do. do. Var. Armata. 



5. Do. do. ,, SoUinger. 



6. Do. do. ,, Arcuatus. 



7. Do. do. ,, Rugosus clinuveanus. 



8. Do. do ,, Subrisides. 



"Of these several varieties the two first known as 

 the small and large seeded castor oil, are in general cul- 

 tivation all over the warm countries of the world, in 

 South of Europe and the East and West Indies. In 

 Southern India the castor oil is generally cultivated 

 as an annual, with cb-y crops either of grain or pulse, 

 and rarely alone, in almost every district, requiring no 

 particular attention as a field crop. It llirives in the 

 plains as well as on the hills to about 5,000 feet above 

 sea level. It grows rapidly into a tall lanky plant 

 from 8 to 15 feet in height, (;enerallj forming a large 

 terminal spike about a foot in length, springing from 

 the terminating branches at the summit, and some- 

 times two or more small side branches form, carrying 

 smaller spikes of about ti to 8 inches in length ; 

 each jpike carries from 100 to 150 capsules which 

 are arnred with long flexible prickles and are triLiciilar 

 or 3-celled, and about the size of a large marble 

 when matured ; the capsule bursts elastically expell- 

 ing its seed usually 3 in number, to a little distance 

 from the plant. 



" i here are two sub-varieties of the lai'ge seeded 

 or lamp oil castor plant, differing in their coloration 

 and size of seed. In one the .stem petioles and 

 veins are of a purplish red colour, and the seed larger 

 than the other, in which the difi'erent parts of the 

 plant are green and the seed somewhat smaller. As 

 soon as a capsule on a spike ripens it is out down 

 with the green fruits before they have fully matured, 

 to prevent loss by the bursting of the capsules and 

 scattering of the seeds, and placed out in the sun 

 to di'y to separate the seeds from the shelle. 



" The small seeded variety grows into a large um- 

 brageous tree 33 to 40 feet in height, with a sturdy 

 looking stout stem. Trees on my estate now measure 

 4 leet in girth, one foot above the soil, and 8 feet, 

 five feet above the soil. 



" It is a handsome tree, and seeds freely yielding 

 15 lb. of seeds per tree per annum. The Sanscrit 

 proverb in the 1st Book of the Hitopadesa says, 

 'That where there are no trees even the castor oil 

 plant ranks as a fortst tree.' It grows suffioicully 



large to produce specimens of wood, but is chiefly 

 remarkable f^jr the beauty of its large spreading leaves, 

 and the value of its seeds, whicli yield the medicinal 

 oastor oil. The stem suffers constant damage from 

 white ants who ai'e exceedingly partial to this tree, 

 they eat through the heart wood of the living tree, 

 leaving but a layer of new wood alburnum, and 

 bark the hollow thus formed being filled with the 

 debris of the white ant. The first blast of wind 

 tears to pieces its branches or snaps off the stem. 

 The bark is also constantly infested with insects which 

 perforate it in all directions. The oil is chiefly used 

 as a mild purgative in medicine, and its utility as 

 such has been known from the most remote ages, 

 and the seeds have been found with Egyptian mum- 

 iiiies in Sarcopbagi. In the aits it is used in the 

 manufacture of soup, but i'B cost and smell preclude 

 its general use. The clearness, limpidness, and absence 

 of ofi'ensive smell can only ba obtained, not from 

 superiority of seed, but from repeated decolorization 

 with animal charcoal and expo.'-ure to the sun's rays, 

 but these qualitii s when obtained destroy its medicinal 

 qualities and eiEciicy. " 



"The oil is obtained by two methods, either by 

 expre-sion or boiling. Years ago an oil press was 

 established in Stringer's Street, Madras, by the late 

 Doctor Gay where the cold drawn ca-tor oil was 

 obtained by expression tilttred through horse hair bags. 

 The oil was considered good and was patronized by 

 Government. The test of its purity is its being able 

 to be dissolved completely in cold alcohol. 



" The large seeded variety furnishes the lamp oil 

 of the bazaars which is so expressively termed velookoo 

 yennie in Tamil. 



"The mode of extraction of the oil varies somewhat 

 in the different districts. Boiling is the chief mode. 

 In some districts the seeds are eubjecteo to pnssure 

 in the common native wooden mill, known as C/ieckoo, 

 to crush the oil out. 



"Not only is castor oil need in medicine, but the 

 juice of the leaves is givm internally to increase the 

 flow of milk. Cattle are fed \\i:h the leaves with 

 the same olject. Most cows cat the I .aves freely and 

 readily. Externally the leaves are ap|.lied to wounds 

 ai d bruises, wheu it acts as a detergent. The husk 

 if the capsule is used as fuel, and the oil cake forma 

 au excellmt manure, and is valmd on account of its 

 regenerating properties which it imparts when applied 

 to plants. 



"From my own personal experiments one pound of 

 oil is obtained from three pounds of oil setd The 

 process consists in fiist fcorchiug the seeds in au 

 earthen pan over a fire, and then pounding them 

 in a mortar to reduce tbcm to floui'. Two bottles of 

 water are boiled, and into the boiling water the pounded 

 castor seeds are thrown, and the mixture is well and 

 constantly stirred with a wooden ladle for a time till 

 the oil giadually rises to the snifiice, and is skimmed 

 off'. A fresh supply of boiling water is added to the 

 mass in the vessel and it is bi'iled for the second time 

 to remove .any remnants of oil it may oontaiu. The 

 whole of the oil obtaineel is now boiled to evaporate 

 any water it may contain, and the oil is then ready 

 to be bottled for use. Care must be taken to see that 

 the oil does not get burned in boiling." 



A quantity of seeds of a large variety of Jitc'mvs 

 have been lately obtained for correspondents through 

 the kind assistance of Mr. Gray, from Coonoor, where 

 a large stedeil variety grows into such a tree as 

 described by l>r. Shortt. 



Resolved that I'eputy Surgeon General Shortt cb 

 thanked for his interesting communication, and that 

 a copy of th.so Proceedings be sent to the Govern- 

 ment of India, Uevenue ant Agricultural IJepartment, 

 ■with refeiencc to tbeir letter.— J/o(?ras Mail. 



