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377- ^ i g ver y curious that while castor-oil plant leaves 

 eaten by milch cows help to increase the flow of milk, a pulp 

 made out of castor leaves is used externally by women to 

 stop the flow of milk from their breasts. Sometimes whole 

 leaves are applied to the breasts for this purpose. The dried 

 stalks are used for thatch and as wattle and also as fuel. 

 The stalks are not attacked by white-ants. 



378. The yield of oil is about 25% to 36% of the weight 

 of seed, and of cake from 36 to 44%, the rest being husk etc., 

 which has to be got rid of before the oil is extracted. 



379. The cultivation of castor-oil plant is done chiefly in 

 the Patna and Bhagalpur Divisions. In other parts of Bengal 

 also it is grown more or less abundantly. A small sized, a 

 middle sized and a large sized variety, are recognised. The 

 first and the last are sown from May to July and grown 

 with some bhadoi crop. The seeds ripen in January and 

 February. The winter variety is sown in September and the 

 seeds are gathered in March or April. This variety yields 

 a larger proportion of oil than the bhadoi varieties. On dearh 

 land the cost of cultivation is little and the yield is large. 

 Like other oil-seed crops, the castor crop is benefited by 

 mineral manures, and the annual renovation of soil by silt is 

 an appropriate substitute for manure. Red soils situated at the 

 foot of hills are also specially chosen for growing castor-oil 

 plants. Such soils if very poor in organic matter, get an 

 application of 20 to 30 cartloads of dung (7 or 8 tons) per 

 acre, or flocks of sheep are hurdled on them. Two or three 

 ploughings are then given at the commencement of the rainy 

 season and the seed sown by dibbling \\ yds. apart, about 6 

 Ibs. of seed being used per acre for the larger variety. In each 

 hole 2 seeds are put in, and if the soil is too dry at the time, 

 water is put in each hole before it is covered up. The smaller 

 variety is planted 18 ft. x 36 ft. apart, 4 Ibs. of seed being 

 used. Castor is an exhausting crop, and it should not be 

 grown on the same land oftener than once in 5 or 6 years. 



