t 279 ] 



It is never irrigated, which is a great advantage, all the opera- 

 tion necessary after sowing being ploughing the land a month 

 after sowing in between the rows of seedlings, to keep it 

 free from weeds. 



380. Castor plantations being very much subject to the 

 attack of caterpillars, preparation of land in the cold weather 

 is necessary, that grubs may be exposed to the attack of birds 

 and ants, also stirring of the soil once a month until sowing 

 time. The seed should also be pickled with an insecticidal 

 mixture before sowing. 



381. 1 he picking of capsules continues from the yth to 

 the Qth month after sowing, after which the remaining leaves 

 are given to cattle and the stems cut and used for fuel, or for 

 making charcoal which is used in the preparation of fire-works. 

 The seed-pods are stacked in a corner of a house, covered 

 with straw and weighted. After a week the capsules are 

 found soft and rotten. They are then exposed to the sun 

 for 2 days, dried, and beaten with heavy mallets 2 ft. 

 long x i \ ft. broad, which process extracts about half the seed. 

 The remaining capsules are again dried and beaten, until all 

 the seeds have been extracted. 



382. A small seeded Deccan variety goes on bearing for 5 years 

 in succession. The quality of oil of this variety is also superior. 



383. When castor is grown with other crops the yield 

 of cleaned seed per acre is about 250 Ibs., while grown by 

 itself, the yield comes to 500 to 900 Ibs. per acre. The cost 

 of cultivation being very little (about Rs. 10 per acre), it is 

 a profitable crop to grow. 



384. There are four processes of extraction of oil which 

 can be followed without much difficulty : 



(i) The seed may be crushed in a screw-press with hori- 

 zontal rollers and the resulting pulp put into ghanies and 

 pressed. This cold-drawn castor oil can be obtained at as 

 high a proportion as 36 per cent., 37 per cent, of cake and 

 27 per cent, of husk being also obtained- 



