MISCELLANEOUS ECOXOMIC PRODUCTS 539 



sheltered valleys. In its native country it begins to bear fruit in 

 its fifth or sixth year, the produce increasing until its fifteenth year, 

 and continues fruitful for at least sixty years. A full-grown tree 

 is said to produce, on an average, from 6 to 12 bunches of fruit 

 every year, an average-sized bunch containing about 200 nuts. 

 The fruit has a fleshy fibrous outer layer, from which the ordinary 

 palm-oil of commerce is obtained. Distinct from this is the white- 

 oil, known as nut-or kernel-oil, obtained from the kernel. The 

 former is used chiefly in the manufacture of soap and candles, while 

 the kernel oil is used largely for making margarine or artificial 

 butter. The Natives extract the coarser oil by boiling the fruits in 

 earthenware pots, the kernel oil being generally expressed in 

 Europe by hydraulic presses ; the resulting cake affords a valuable 

 cattle food. A single tree may yield from 1 to 3 gallons of oil per 

 annum, the quantity varying according to rainfall and the character 

 of the soil. The price of palm-oil on the London market varies 

 from about 30 per ton, against 35 to 40 for Coconut oil f.o.b. 

 Colombo. The palm is propagated by seeds, which take 2 to 

 3 months to germinate. 



Sun-flower Oil. (Helianthiis annuits. Compositae). Sunflower- 

 oil is an important article of commerce, being obtained from the 

 seed of the familiar annual plant of the same name ; while the seed 

 is a nutritious food for cattle and poultry. The plant, originally a 

 native of Peru, grows 5 to 6 ft. or more in height, and thrives in 

 ordinary soil in any warm climate with sufficient moisture. In 

 Ceylon it flourishes at all elevations, more especially from 3,000 to 

 5,000 ft. It is extensively cultivated in Russia for its edible seed 

 as well as for its useful edible oil. The seed may be sown in rows 

 2j ft. apart, allowing about 1 ft. between the plants in the rows. 

 About 6 Ib. of seed is thus required to sow an acre ; a crop is ob- 

 tained in four months from the date of sowing, and a yield of 

 50 to 60 bushels of seed per acre is considered a good return. The 

 soil between the rows should be forked up or tilled occasionally in 

 the early stages of the crop. The method of harvesting is similar 

 to that of Maize, the heads being gathered and dried, then threshed 

 or rubbed out by hand over a rough grating. The seed is said to 

 be usually worth about 17 per ton for the purpose of extracting 

 the oil. A bushel of seed, on an average, is estimated to yield a 

 gallon of oil. 



Shea Butter. (Biityrosperniuin Parkii Sapotaceae). A medium- 

 sized tree with a stout trunk, bearing thick oval leaves, about 9 in. 



