283 ' ■ 



The writer has not at hand the figures relating to Medicinal 

 Castor-oil, but here, also, we know that the figure must be a large 

 one, 'and judging by the price of 85 cents, which the writer recently 

 paid for a 10 ounc-e bottle of Morton^s Clastor-oil, we may imagine 

 that, in passing from the seed to the bottle and finally to the con- 

 sumer, the oil gathers unto itself many little rivrilets of handsome 

 profits. 



The Castor-oil plant, of which there are small plots in the 

 Economic Gardens, does extremely well in light alluvial loams, well 

 supplied with organic matter. Sown in such soil from seed on 5th 

 ISTovember, 1919, several trees are now, at time of writing, 1st May, 

 1920, showing well-formed fruiting spikes. One panicle, off one of 

 these trees has already given 120 ripe seeds, and the rest of the seed 

 will require picking in a very few days. These trees are from 4 to 

 5 feet in height. 



Xext to this plot is another one sown on the 10th of January, 

 i.e. exactly 110 days old at the time of writing, of a smaller variety, 

 whose plants are already, ^at a height of 3 feet, flowering heavily; 

 one tree with five spikes in different stages of development. 



In thin clayey soils and in sandy soils the growth of the plant 

 is slow and its seed production is small. Yet, in India it is said 

 to do well on red laterite soils at the foot of hills, provided they 

 are not too stiff amd they keep moisture well : but if tliey are poor 

 in organic matter, tliey must receive an application of cowdung well 

 incorporated with the land, previous to sowing. 



The plant roots deeply and the ground requires a good digging 

 at least 8 inches deep. 



There are many cultivated varieties of Ricinus communis dis- 

 tinguished by various characteristic-s, such as the colouring of the 

 stem which may be almost white, or of a glaucous bluish-green, 

 or of a red colour with or without a white frost-like dusting on 

 the stems and branches. There are also marked differences in the 

 sizes and colours of the seeds, between one variety and another. 

 Some, of a flattish shape, with dull-grey markings, f inch in length 

 were shown to the writer as coming from East Africa. Others, 

 gathered from a tree growing wild in the Economic Gardens, not 

 quite half an inch long, are oval in shape and rounded in contour: 

 their colour is a bright reddish-brown with well marked yellowish 

 veinings ; while still others, also found growing wild locally, are 

 just over ^ inch in length, purple brown, with faint markings. 



In Madras the seeds are classed omder two main types : 



1° The Coast and Warangal, which are small. 



2° The Salems, 'which are large. 

 The Coast-seed of Cocanada is said to be the best for oil. 



Some varieties are annual ; others are grown as perennial crops. 

 Mukerji mentions a small-seeded variety from the Deccan, which 

 goes on bearing for 5 years in succession, and producing an oil of 

 superior quality. (Handbook of Indian Agriculture). 



The seeds of the small annual varieties are sown 3 feet apart, 

 or better still, (if a subsidiary crop of ground-nut is interplant- 



