MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 65U 



with difficulty, owing to their thick and impervious coat ; hence nearly 

 boiling water should be poured over them before sowing, and they 

 should remain in this for about twenty-four hours, the temperature 

 of the water in the meantime gradually lowering to that of the at- 

 mosphere. They should be planted in hills, 2 inches deep, 8 or 10 

 seeds to a hill, and afterwards thinned out to 1, or at most 2, plants 

 per hill. The rows are 5 or 6 feet apart, with the hills 2 or 3 feet 

 distant. Between every sixth and seventh row shoul'd be left a 

 space of about 8 feet, to permit the passage of a horse and wagon 

 when the beans are harvested. In the South, where the castor bean 

 grows more vigorously, the hills may be 6 or 7 feet apart. Planting 

 should take place as early in the spring as possible, making allow- 

 ance for frosts, to which the Ricinus is very susceptible. The cut- 

 worm, too, is sometimes a serious obstacle to its cultivation. The 

 land should be kept free from weeds and the crop grown much the 

 same as corn or beans, and on very similar soil. 



In harvesting, the fruiting branches should be cut off as soon 

 as the pods begin to pop open, which is in July in the South. This 

 process must be repeated at least once or twice a week, as fast as the 

 seeds ripen. The fruits are then spread out to dry, either on the 

 floor of a granary or other close room or in a "dry yard" built near 

 the castor-bean fields. This yard is made by cutting away the sod, 

 rolling the ground hard, and building a tight board fence around 

 it to prevent loss from the beans scattering. It is better to make a 

 tight board floor for the dry yard, which should be in a sunny place, 

 sloping to the south. The spikes must be turned over occasionally 

 and kept protected from moisture. After the seeds have popped out 

 they are cleaned from the shells with a common fanning mill. 



In Florida and other warm countries the castor bean is a per- 

 ennial plant, growing from 15 to 30 feet high and as large around 

 as a man's body. In colder climates it behaves as an annual, dying 

 down upon the approach of winter. The seeds are produced in 

 great abundance, and their tendency to scatter when ripe renders 

 the plant a great pest where it grows wild. (Y. B. 1895.) 



The castor oil plant is cultivated on a commercial scale prin- 

 cipally in India. It is also largely cultivated in tropical Africa, 

 Italy, Central and South American, China, and in the United States 

 in Kansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Oregon and California. 



Uses of the Oil. -Castor oil has many uses. It is used in dye- 

 ing with various colors by calico printers ; for dressing tanned hides 

 and skins; for the manufacture of Morocco leather; for the preser- 

 vation of harness; for the manufacture of varnish; and, in India, 

 for illumination. It is one of the best lubricating oils for all classes 

 of machinery; is employed for the manufacture of soaps, candles, 

 pomatums, perfumed oils, golden oil, and in fact in a great variety 

 of ways. The stems have oeen used for the manufacture of paper 

 and charcoal. Indian authorities consider the oil far superior to 

 petroleum or any other mineral oil, or to any vegetable oil, as an 

 illuminant, as it burns with a white light of great brilliancy, with- 

 out smoke or soot. 



