Vol. XI. No. 259. 



THE AGRIUULTUKAL NEWS. 



101 



The prizes were distributed by His Hoaonrthe Adminis- 

 trator at a [lublic meeting, held in the Cb^^ House, Soufriere. 

 en the yth instant, when His Honour fnnk the opportunity to 

 encourage the holders to persevere \vith"^he good work that 

 they hatl bejiun. The Imperial Coniniias,ioner of Agriculture 

 also addressed the meeting, e.xplaining the objects of the 

 scheme and pointing out how the continued practice of the 

 iniproved woik; under the direction of the local Agricultural 

 Othcers, woidd biing about the permanent betterment of their 

 holdings and increased profit to the growers. The meeting 

 was very successful, and on the announcement that the scheme 

 wfiuld be continued during 191213, nine names were entered 

 for the forthcoming, and third, competition in that district. 



CULTIVATION AND USES OP SESAMUM 

 SEED. 



Sesamum seed, the product of an annual plant, Sesamum 

 ii'di'uiK, is known by a number of names in commerce, among 

 these being .Sesame, Sim sini or Sem sem, Til or Teel, Gingelly 

 or .linjilli, and Benne or Benni. These names are mentioned 

 in an article in the Jiulletin of the iMp'-nal Inslilute, 1911, 

 p. 260. from which the following information is taken. 



The oil from the seed is largely used in the countries of 

 production iis a food; in this case it is prepared in crude 

 pestle mills or wedge presses, and is employed in cooking and 

 for adulterating ghi (clarified butter fat): it is also used for 

 preparing perfumed oil for burning, while the residual cake 

 is fed to rattle, or even eaten by human beings in times of 

 scarcity. The seed is also employed as a food, chiefly in the 

 form of sweetmeats. In European countries the oil is largely 

 employed in soap-making, and the preparation of edible oils 

 and fats. The most important market in Europe for sesamum 

 seed is Marseilles. 



The plant gro".vs well in the tropics and in sub-tropical 

 regions. It does not require a lirge rdnfall, as it occupies 

 the ground for only a short time; in India, if it is sown in 

 September, it may be harvested in .January. The article men- 

 tioned advises the growing of sesamum, in view of the increas- 

 ing demand for edible oils of the kind yielded by the seed, 

 suggesting that it might easily be raised as a catch crop, ' as 

 the returns are quick, and the cultural requirements simple.' 



In India, .sesamum is grown alone, or mixed with corn or 

 millet. In the preparation of the land, deep tillage is not 

 essential; all that is required is a fine surface tilth, on account 

 of the smallness of the seed. For sowing, the latter is mixed 

 with sand or ashes, to enable it to be distributed thinly and 

 evenly on the land: the sowing takes place either broadcast 

 or in drills 1 foot to 1 foot 6 inches apart, according to the 

 nature of the soil. Where it is grown alone, 12 fc. to 2-5 tt). 

 of seed is needed for sowing 1 acre. The seedlings are 

 thinned out when about 6 inches high: at this stage of growth 

 tliey are delicate, and likely to be damaged by heavy rains. 



The time to harvest the crop is indicated by the fact 

 that the leaves begin to turn j-ellow and the fruit capsules 

 become mottled. At this stage, the plants should not be 

 allowed to remain long in the field, or the capsules are 

 likely to open and cause loss of seed. In harvesting, the 

 plants are cut down close to the ground, or uprooted, tied in 

 bundles and placed upright on a floor or a prepared piece of 

 ground ; they do not require any cover, as they are not 

 harmed by rain. This stacking of the plants permits the 

 capsules to ripen, and as these are )jroduced at different 

 periods of growth they are not all equally ripe when the 

 plants are taken from the field. Under ordinary conditions, 



the first-formed fruits mature in seven days, and the seeds 

 are shaken from these on to a cloth, spread on the floor. 

 After this has been done, the bundles of plants are laid out 

 in the sun for two or three d lys, and again stacked ; after 

 this time they are again shaken, and the alternate operations 

 of drying, stacking and shaking are repeated until all the 

 seed has been obtained. In the case of particular varieties, 

 the stems are sometimes beaten with a flail, to make the 

 fruits open, but this is not ordinarily necessary The dried 

 stems that are left cannot be utilized as fodder, but may be 

 burned on the land and the ashes ploughed into the soil. 

 The above description is that of the harvesting operations 

 as they are carried out in India. In that country, the yield 

 of a good average crop from black soil is about 1.50 tlj. per 

 acre; under the different conditions of growing the plant 

 alone and mixed, however, yields have been ol)tained as high 

 as 1,230 til. and as low as 50 to 150 tt). per acre. 



The seeds of sesamum vary greatly in colour, and may 

 be white, gre}', reddi.shbrown, dark brown or black, accord- 

 ing to the variety. This circumstance makes some difference 

 to their value in commerce, for according to trade regulations, 

 consignments must contain less than 25 per cent, of dark seed 

 in order to be classed as ' white ' seed ; while allowances have 

 to be made if more than 15 per cent, of dark seed is 

 present. Mixtures of dark and white seed are classed as 

 ' bigarrc ' ; this must contain at least 35 per cent, of the 

 latter. There are also certain regulations and allowances 

 applicable to mixtures of large and small seed. The prices 

 at >[nrseilles are about £11 per ton for 'black mixed ' to 

 £16 13s. per ton for Bombay 'large seeds'. In the United 

 Kingdom, .sesamum seed is not a source of oil ; the small 

 quantities imported are generally used in making compound 

 feeding cakes, for the purpose of bringing the percentage of 

 oil up to the standard. European methods for extracting 

 sesame oil from the seed are very similar to those employed 

 for obtaining ground nut oil. 



The cake lelt after the expression of the oil still contains 

 8 to 10 per cent, of this, and is much used as a cattle food. 

 Experiments conducted at the South Eastern Agricultural 

 College, Wye, showed that the cake constitutes an excellent 

 fodder which is agreeable to stock; cows could be given 7 tiv 

 8 It), a day, with no ill effects, and the butter obtained from 

 the milk was soft and white, while it did not contain any trace 

 of seasmum oil. The cake made from unsound or damaged 

 seed is not used as a cattle food, but for manure after all the 

 oil has been removed by means of such solvents as petroleum 

 and carbon bisulphide. At .Marseilles, the price of the cake 

 varies from X5 1 5s. per ton, for that from black Indian seed 

 to al)out £6 OS. per ton for that from white Levant or Indian 

 seed. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The iQiperial Commissioner of Agriculture re- 

 turned to Barbados by the S S. 'Guiana', on Saturday, 

 March 1(3, 1912, from a visit to St. Vincent, tihe 

 Northern Islands and St. Lucia, in connexion with the 

 agricultural interests of those colonies. 



Mr. G. E. Bodkin, Economic Biologist, British 

 Guiana, returned at the same time from Dominica, and 

 left Barbados for Demerara by the 8.S. 'Coppename', 

 on Tuesday, March 19, 1912. 



