6 BULLETIN 867, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



shows the relative quantities of beans imported from various sources 

 for the years 1912, 1914, and 1918. 



Table V. — Relative quantities of castor beans imported from various sources during the 



years 1912, 1914, and 1918. 1 



Source. 



Relative importations of 

 castor beans (per cent). 





1912 



1914 



1918 





14.0 



81.0 



4.6 



.1 



10.0 



87.9 



1.0 



.3 



0.06 





60.00 





19.00 





8.00 







1 Calculated from Table III. 



In 1918 the American castor-bean crop was estimated at about 

 5,750 tons f250, 000 bushels), or about one-fourth of the normal 

 domestic consumption. The sudden cessation of hostilities, how- 

 ever, together with the great impetus given to castor-bean cultiva- 

 tion throughout the world, has resulted in an overburdened market, 

 with consequent tendencies to lower the price and unload foreign 

 stocks in the United States. This w^ould certainly have a tendency 

 to cripple the crushing industry here were it not for the high quality 

 of oil produced. In fact, the best grade produced in this country 

 is not excelled by any foreign producer, while some of our No. 3 

 grade is as good as much of the imported first-grade oil. However, 

 there is a growing tendency among foreign vegetable-oil producers 

 to erect crushing mills near the areas of production of oleaginous 

 materials, which would certainly seem in course of time to affect 

 our supplies of raw material, with the consequent crippling of our 

 mills. 



The relieving feature of this development is the intimate knowl- 

 edge gained of the possibilities for creating a permanent American 

 castor-bean industry. In the past this has been an actuality. 

 Until about 1900 relatively large quantities of castor beans were 

 raised in this country, 1 chiefly in Oklahoma, Kansas, ^Missouri, and 

 IDinois, but in the face of successful foreign competition the pos- 

 sibilities for development of the American crop disappeared. The 

 great campaign of castor-bean growing inaugurated in 1917 by the 

 Bureau of Aircraft Production has resulted in gathering considerable 

 information concerning the growing of castor beans, such as yields 

 per acre in different parts of the country and cost of handling, and 

 we are now in a good position from the standpoint of knowledge of 

 farming conditions to adopt intelligently whatever measures may be 

 necessary to meet foreign competition. Most of the details of seed 



1 Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Asmculture, 1904, p. 295. 



