246 ON THE CULTUEE OF BENNE OR SESAMUM, ETC. 



apart, according to the strength of the land and mode of cultivation ; 

 thinned to twelve inches or more on the drill, and barely kept clean of 

 weeds and grass ; not much earthing up is required. They can be sown 

 just after the frost ; in the Southern Gulf States they are planted from 

 first of April till June. 



My friend, J. A. M. King, of Savannah, Georgia, from whom these 

 facts are obtained, is of opinion that this plant would richly repay for 

 planting in many localities where the land is allowed to be idle, because 

 unfit for other crops. He thinks one merit of this crop would be its re- 

 quiring so little stirring of the soil, exposing it to the sun and rains, 

 which he thinks one great cause of sandy soil losing consistence or body, 

 besides by its leafy and leguminous character, this Benne enriches the 

 soil in its decay. 



The yield of seed is large, returning twenty bushels to the acre, 

 but the harvest is very wasteful, though easy, as usually managed 

 by the negroes, who chiefly cultivate it on their own account. In the 

 fall when the leaves have dropped off, which happens before the legume 

 expands, the stalks are cut and bound in sheaves and stacked up in the 

 field to dry, when, after a few days, they are simply shaken over a large 

 sheet spread out in the field. Rain does not rot the seed, as it passes 

 with facility through the pods, wasting a portion ; after winnowing, the 

 seed is ready for sacking. 



As is well known, the chief use of the seed is as a source of oil, and 

 in order to ascertain the yield of oil from a sample grown in Georgia, 

 three bushels of the seed were submitted to the action of a linseed oil- 

 mill, and nine and-a-half gallons of oil were obtained. From this data 

 it will be seen that sesame is among the cheapest of the fixed oils, and 

 must become a popular substitute for some others, if introduced. 



In regard to its properties, I have no new facts to offer ; it appears 

 to be bland and nearly colourless, though not free from the odour and 

 taste of the seed. It is the oil of Ben of English commerce. 



The negroes are in the habit of roasting the seeds and infusing 

 them in water to form a drink like coffee, and it is asserted that its nar- 

 cotic properties are very decided. The cake left after expressing the oil 

 is probably possessed of all the narcotic properties of the seed, and it 

 would soon become an economical question, in case of its production on 

 a large scale, — What shall we do with it ? If it met the fate of the cot- 

 ton seed and the pea-nut cakes, it would be mixed in large proportion 

 with the linseed cake of commerce, in which form it would find ready 

 purchasers both at home and abroad. I have not spoken of the leaves, 

 which plucked at the time of their maturity, are very mucilaginous, and 

 extensively used in the treatment of some complaints of children. 



[Mr. Parrish is wrong in assuming this to be the Ben oil of English 

 commerce. There is very little oil sold under this name at all. The 

 watchmaker's ben oil is generally attributed to the seeds of the Moringa, 

 but it is very doubtful whether any of this is ever imported . We have 



