THE LIBERTY-OIL PLANT 



BY ROBERT SPARKS WALKER 



THE castor-oil plant has during the last two years had 

 hestowed on it a new name a name of which any- 

 thing with real life might well he proud. Americans 

 have heen growing it for decades as an ornamental plant 

 and it well deserves a place on every lawn where the 

 climate suits it. But down 

 in the State of Florida and 

 in other Southern localities 

 of the United States it 

 does best. In some sec- 

 tions of the United States 

 where freezes occur the 

 castor bean plant is an an- 

 nual, but down in Florida 

 it is a perennial and 

 makes a good sized tree. 

 Its seeds are beautiful 

 things with wonderful 

 markings and they are 

 filled chuck full of the kind 

 of oil that makes airplanes 

 work to perfection. So 

 our Government has con- 

 tracted with growers in 

 Florida for the oil from 

 thousands of acres of cas- 

 tor beans or the new 

 "Liberty-Oil" plant. (Hats 

 off to the name ! ) The 

 "Liberty-Oil" plant is play- 

 ing an important part in 

 the winning of the war for 

 Freedom, Democracy and 

 Christianity, for the entire 

 world. For many years 

 Floridians have been grow- 

 ing castor beans as a shade 

 plant for the poultry yard, 

 to temper the heat from a 

 blazing sun, but now it is 

 being grown that the Allies 

 may make it so hot for the 

 destroyers of human souls, 

 that the world will never 

 again be threatened with 

 this demon of militarism. 

 The new "Liberty-Oil" 

 plant will play such an im- 

 portant part in the winning 

 of the present war that the 

 Huns will doubtless wish it 

 was numbered among the 

 extinct plants of the world. 



w 



The following interesting facts are taken from a re- 

 port on "Castor Beans," by W. W. Stockberger, Phys'o- 

 logist in Charge of Drug and Poisonous Plant Investiga- 

 tions of the United States Department of Agriculture : 

 The castor-oil plant or Palma Christi (Ricinus com- 

 munis L.) is a member 

 of the family Euphorbia- 

 ceae, and is not a legume 

 or true bean as some sup- 

 pose. The seeds of this 

 plant, called "castor 

 beans" or "mole beans" 

 yield the castor oil of com- 

 merce. About one hun- 

 dred years ago small local 

 crops of castor beans were 

 produced in Virginia, 

 North Carolina, South 

 Carolina, Georgia and 

 other Southern States, and 

 later in Kentucky, Texas 

 and California. Between 

 1860 and 1900 the castor 

 bean was an important 

 crop in certain sections of 

 Oklahoma, Kansas, Mis- 

 souri and Illinois, but dur- 

 ing recent years its culture 

 has been practically aban- 

 doned. The decline of the 

 industry in the United 

 States is attributed to the 

 growing importance of 

 other crops and the reduc- 

 tion in prices brought about 

 by heavy importations of 

 castor beans from India. 



For the commercial pro- 

 duction of castor beans, 

 the warm climate and 

 longer growing season of 

 the more southern states 

 is necessary. If planted 

 much further north than 

 St. Louis, Missouri, or 

 Washington, D. C, the crop 

 is very likely to be caught 

 by frost. In general, any 

 fertile soil which produces 

 good crops of cotton or corn 

 is suitable for castor beans, 

 but a very fertile soil fa- 

 vors the growth of the plant 



A SPIKE OF THE CASTOR-OIL PLANT 



This shows a typical spike of the "Liberty-oil" plant, with ripe pods, 

 each containing three beans. 



