4 THE CHINESE WOOD-OIL TREE. 



This valuable oil constitutes about 23.9 per cent of the substance 

 of the nuts, and its market price, which is normally 6 to 7 cents per 

 pound, has risen recently to 12 cents. If figured out on the basis 

 of 1 pound of the applelike fruits yielding 0.58 pound of nuts and 

 0.138 pound of oil, a pound of fresh fruits would be worth from 0.82 

 cent to 1.6 cents, and a bushel, which would weigh approximately 

 27 pounds, would be worth from 22 to 43 cents, depending on the 

 market price of the oil. For comparison, 65 cents a bushel is 

 considered a fair price for apples. 



Not more than 108 trees (i. e., 20 by 20 feet apart) should be 

 planted to the acre, and this would mean a possible gross yearly 

 return of from $23 to $46, depending on the market price of the oil 

 figured on the above basis. One 8-year-old tree belonging to Mr. 

 W. H. Raynes, of Tallahassee, Fla., bore this year 852 fruits, prac- 

 tically 2 bushels, which would make the gross returns from $46 to 

 $92 an acre, provided that all the trees in an orchard did as well as 



this one. 



CULTIVATION. 



In the neighborhood of Tallahassee, Fla., land suitable for the 

 cultivation of the Chinese wood-oil tree is selling for $10 to $15 an 

 acre, and land on which it will grow can probably be had for much 

 less. The cost of planting, cultivation, and marketing would prob- 

 ably not exceed $15 an acre yearly, so that as a tree crop this wood-oil 

 tree is worthy of consideration by the owners of cheap lands in the 

 South. 



Experiments might be made in blasting holes for the reception of 

 the trees where soil conditions render digging difficult in the ordinary 

 way. Since the trees are rapid growers, it is also probable that it 

 will be satisfactory if the soil is kept free of weeds for a space of 4 

 feet on each side of the row and the center space between the rows 

 left in sod. After an orchard is well established it may not require 

 any cultivation, although possibly the increased crops would more 

 than pay for the cost of clean culture. 



PRODUCTION OF WOOD OIL. 



The work of gathering these large fruits will not, in all probability, 

 approach the cost of gathering apples, which is commonly 5 cents a 

 bushel. The nuts are removed from the husks very readily after the 

 fruits have been stacked in heaps, and the process of crushing and 

 extracting the oil is not likely to be more expensive than the ex- 

 traction of cottonseed oil. It is also probable that the same or 

 similar machinery can be used for the expression of wood oil. 



In China, according to reports, after the fruits have been gathered 

 and the husks removed, the nuts are put into a large iron pan about 



[Cir. 108] 



