NO. 17. 



THE VARMERS CABINET. 



2g; 



ivvo or three plants are suffeied to grow ; the 

 subsequent tillage being also the same as that 

 practised tor corn. Tlie most tedious part 

 of tlie management of this crop is the gather- 

 ing of fruit, wliicli tbrms a cluster with a 

 pyramidal termination; the lower portion 

 being occupied by the male flowers that yield 

 no seed, and the upper by llie female flowers. 

 In the female flowers, the ovary, which is 

 roundish and three-sided, supports three linear 

 reddisii stigmas, forked at their apex. Tlie 

 fruit, properly speaking, is a round capsule, 

 with three projecting sides, covered with 

 rough spines, and divided into three cells, 

 each containing one seed. The flowers ap- 

 pear in July, and the seed ripens throughout 

 i\ugust and September. If suffered to do so 

 on tlie plant, tlie capsule bursts with consi- 

 derable force, projecting the seed at a dis- 

 tance, and scattering it about the field. To 

 avoid this is the only extra attention required 

 by this growth, and ihis is done by anticipat- 

 ing the maturity of the fruit. The directions 

 are, to visit the plantation a little before the 

 commencement of the ripening season, remov- 

 ing those clusters that approach to maturity, 

 (wliich is known by a change of color, from 

 grayish green to a ligiit pea green,) and con- 

 veying them to the drying ground, where, 

 by the effect of the sun's heat, they burst, and 

 dislodge their seeds. The only preparation 

 for the drying ground is to provide a small 

 place, cleaned and levelled as for a thrashing 

 floor, upon which the clusters are scattered. 

 It would be advisable to locate this spot in 

 the neighborhood of the barn, or near a shed, 

 80 as to facilitate the removal of tlie plants, 

 in case of protracted wet weather, to some 

 sheltered situation. Transient showers of 

 rain do not, however, damage it, otherwise 

 than by blackening the seed, whereby its sale 

 might be injured, although it does not dimin- 

 ish its productiveness in oil. The occupation 

 of gathering having once commenced, it 

 should be so arranged as to visit each plant 

 twice a week, morning and evening, until 

 the whole crop has been secured. It may 

 then be sent to a market, where, at the time 

 of writing this Report, it commands three 

 dollars a bushel ; or, it may be made to yield 

 its oil by the following process, as practised 

 in Northampton county, Virginia. 



The seeds are first to be thoroughly cleaned 

 of dust, and of portions of the capsules that 

 may have adhered to them. They are then 

 introduced into shallow iron drawers, ar- 

 ranged on both sides of a furnace, where they 

 are exposed to a gentle heat ; the object of 

 this first operation being to render the oil 

 more easy of expression. From these draw- 

 ers they are conveyed into a pov^erful screw- 

 press, by the operation of which the oil is'ob- 

 taincd. So far, however, the oil is impure: 



It must now, therefore, be transferred to 

 clean iron boilers, previously supplied with 

 water. As the boiling proceeds, the impuri- 

 ties that rise to the surface, are skimmed ofl", 

 and the clear purified oil finally makes its ap- 

 pearance, floating on the water. It is now 

 carefully removed, and a second time sub- 

 jected to the boiling proccs.'--, with a small 

 quantity of water, until the latter liquid has 

 been entirely dissipated. This is ascertained 

 by taking out a small portion into a vial, and 

 observing whether it preserves its transpa- 

 rency as it cools. Some caic is required not 

 to push the heat too far, as then the oil would 

 acquire a brownish hue and a hot peppery 

 taste, which would at all events unfit it for 

 use as a medicine. One bushel of seeds yields 

 about one gallon and three quarters of oil, at 

 an expense of about twenty five centsa bushel, 

 which is refunded by the sale of the pu7nice, 

 found to be an excellent manure for corn 

 crops. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. 

 Smith, of Northampton county, Va., an in- 

 telligent and experienced planter of palma 

 christi, and manufacturer of castor oil, in the 

 vicinity of Eastville, for the information con- 

 tained in the above paragraphs. 



It is needless, after what has just been said, 

 to expatiate upon the value of the plant. That 

 the soil and climate of at least the lower por- 

 tions of the Eastern Shore of Maryland are 

 congenial to its growth, cannot be doubted. 

 The praiseworthy example (crowned, it is be- 

 lieved, with entire success) has already been 

 set to the inhabitants of Somerset, by one of 

 the most intelligent farmers of the county — 

 Col. Arnold E. Jones. 



Ciiess — BfOiiius Secaliuiis. 



Many of our agricultural papers have re- 

 cently published articles on tlie subject of tha 

 conversion or degeneration of Wheat into 

 Chess. We have been rather surprised to 

 find that several have embraced the opinion 

 that such change does really take place. 



They rest the proof of their position upon 

 the supposed facts, that chess has been found 

 growing from a grain of wheat, and that clean 

 wheat, sown on certain kinds of ground, has 

 returned almost nothing but chess. 



Many persons might be deceived by aa 

 instance of the first case, while a careful 

 examination would show their error. We 

 have heard of several supposed cases, of a 

 stalk of chess growing from a grain of wheat, 

 where a close examination by a skilful 

 observer has detected the mistake. 



As to the latter case, in the same way, we 

 have seen wheat and rye turned into what are 

 commonly called wild tnrneps. Improper 

 seeds may exist in the soil previous to the 

 sowing of pure grain, and these will most 



