16 



T H E C U B A R E V I E W 



The Horse-Radish Tree, Showing the Pods Which It Produces Annually in Abundance 



naturalized. The northern traveler in Cuba is attracted by its conspicuous seed pods 

 and finely pinnate leaves. Few other trees surpass it for ornamental purposes and then 

 is hardly a private or public park in which this tree does not appear in the decorative 

 scheme. It has the general appearance of trees related to the logwood, with whicl 

 it compares in size, but differs in the characters of the fruit and seeds as well as ir 

 the properties and uses of the wood and bark. The fruit is a long whip-like, 9-ribbed 

 pendulous pod from 9 to 18 inches long and contains one row of three-cornered seed; 

 winged at the angles. The bark is thick and corky, the wood soft, the roots pungeni 

 and all the young twigs and leaves are soft and hairy. 



The seeds, which are called ben-nuts, constitute the most important product oJ 

 this tree. They are about as large as a full-grown soya bean and yield by pressur( 

 the well-known and highly prized ben oil used so largely by watchmakers. It has lonj 

 been known as the best lubricant for fine machinery, as it is far superior to that ol 

 the castor bean. A supply of this oil was sought during the war for lubricating aero 

 plane propeller shafts. As a result of this demand quantities of seeds were collectec 

 in Cuba, Haiti, Porto Rico and other West Indian islands, where the tree has mosi 

 wildly escaped from cultivation. The seeds yield from 30 to 35 per cent, of a clear 

 limpid and almost colorless oil that is rather thick at ordinary temperatures and ha; 

 almost no odor or flavor. The oil saponifies very slowly and does not turn rancid, Ii 



