Madia saliva, as an Oil Plant, 143 



during the course of which one plant, Mcldia sativa, attracted peculiar at- 

 tention, as he found from the reports of travellers in Chile, that it is cultivated 

 in that country as an oleiferous plant, and an excellent oil is extracted from it. 

 During the last few years, M. Bosch has given this plant a fair trial on a large 

 scale, at considerable expense ; and the results of this trial have surpassed his 

 most sanguine expectations. 



The plant is an annual belonging to the natural order Compositae, attaining 

 the height of from \\ ft. to 2 ft.; it agrees with every rotation of crops, and 

 succeeds in all soils, provided they are neither too humid nor too stiff and 

 binding ; but, in a rich soil, if the necessary space be given to the plant to 

 spread out its branches, it attains the highest perfection. The proper season 

 for sowing is either in October, or the spring, and the necessary quantity of 

 seeds required for an acre depends upon the condition of the soil, and varies 

 from 4 lb. to 6 lb. ; but it is, of course, advisable to sow a little more than is 

 actually wanted, to provide against any unforeseen accidents which may happen 

 to the seeds before germination. The young plants are not damaged by 

 spring frosts ; nor are they liable to be attacked by animals or insects. If 

 spring sowing be preferred, the ground must be well prepared in the autumn, 

 in order to sow the seeds as early in the spi'ing as possible ; after which they 

 must be pressed down by rolling, and will need no other culture than to be 

 kept free from weeds. When the seeds begin to ripen, which may be easily 

 known by the change of their colour from green to black, the plants are either 

 cut off near the ground, or pulled up by the roots, and laid on the ground for 

 drying ; after which they are treated like rape. The seeds, however, must 

 not remain long before they are threshed out ; because the glutinous stalks, 

 when heaped up, soon begin to ferment, and will do the greatest damage to the 

 seeds. 



The produce of one Wirtemburg acre containing 38,400 square feet amounts, 

 according to the nature of the soil, and the condition of the plants, to from 

 4 to 6| scheffel (bushels) of seed. One schefFel weighs from 1 94 lb. to 208 lb. ; 

 and from that quantity from 68 lb. to 70 lb. of oil have been obtained, ac- 

 cording to the trials that were made in several mills of different constructions. 



According to a chemical analysis, 100 parts of the Madia oil consist of 45 

 parts of oleine (or fluid part of the oil), 40 of stearine (the mucilage, or fatty 

 part), and 15 of gb/cerine (or sweet solid part, a honey-like and glutinous 

 substance). This oil does not congeal at 19° below Reaumur, but only be- 

 comes a little less fluid, which makes it an incomparable substance for keeping 

 all sorts of machines in order ; and there can likewise be a solid and well 

 lathering soap made of it. That it may be advantageously used in cloth 

 manufactories has been proved by experiments already made, by which it was 

 found preferable to the olive oil, which had been previously used. The 

 produce of this annual oil-plant, if compared with that of the rape and the 

 poppy, leads to the following conclusions : — 



The rape, which attains its perfection only in the second year, produces 

 from 4 to 5 scheffel of seed per acre, and but seldom succeeds well. One 

 scheffel of rapeseed gives 96 lb. of oil ; therefore, one acre, in the space of 

 two years, produces 480 lb. of oil, which makes for one year 240 lb. 



One acre sown with poppies gives from 2J to 3 scheffel of seed ; from one 

 of which are obtained 88 lb. of oil, which gives a produce of 264 lb. per acre 

 yearly. 



One acre cultivated with Madia sativa, which ripens generally towards the 

 end of July, produces from 4 to 6^ scheffel of seed. One scheffel gives 68 lb. 

 of oil, therefore 6| scheffel make a produce of 442 lb. of oil. 



For all these reasons, it is to be hoped that the Madia sativa will soon take 

 that place in our agriculture, to which, by its usefulness, it is justly entitled ; 

 and which, also, our sovereign (the king of Wirtemburg) has already ac- 

 knowledged, by rewarding with a gold medal the merit of M. Bosch, in intro- 

 ducing a plant into field culture which promises to become uncommonly 

 useful, not only to our agriculture, but to our manufactures and trades. To 



