CASTOR OIL SEED. 



405 



Numerous factories for the local manufacture of oil from cotton 

 seed are now at work in the South, and a ready sale is found for the 

 oilcake in the Northern States and in Europe, the product being 

 of much value in feeding stock. The oil is one of the most useful 

 of the vegetable oils, and brings, in New York, from 18d. to 20c?. 

 per gallon. The total production of cotton seed in the Southern 

 States is about 2,230,000 tons, of which nearly one-third is produced 

 in the valley of the Mississippi. The market price for the seed is 

 ^12 to ^13 per ton. 



Cotton seed is becoming one of the principal articles of export 

 from Egypt. It has gradually risen from 1090 cwts. in 1860 to 

 3,490,080 cwts. in 1873, of the value of 770,000/. England takes 

 nearly all of this. 



Mr. McLagan, in the ' Edinburgh Quarterly Journal of Agriculture' 

 for July, 1854, gave some interesting details respecting the feeding 

 properties of the oilcake from cotton seed. Cattle do not take to it at 

 first, but eventually get to like it and thrive upon it. 



About 27 imperial stones of cake are obtained from 4 cwts. of seed. 



The following figures show the quantity of cotton seed we have 

 imported of late years. This seed was not separately enumerated 

 before 1861 : 





Tons. 





Tons. 



1861 .. 



. ,. 20,034 



1869 .. . 



. ,, 105,646 



1862 



. 33,162 



1870 ., , 



120,304 



1863 , 



62,159 



1871 



172,163 



1864 



84,642 



1872 . . . 



167,904 



18G5 , 



114,851 



1873 ,, 



, .. 207,038 



1866 .. , 



93,957 



1874 . , . 



190,591 



1867 . , 



93,643 



1875 , 



202,205 



1868 





1876 . , . 



. .. 230,284 



Oil-seed Cake. — The oilcakes imported are all classed together; 

 there is, however, a large home trade in those resulting from the 

 British crushing mills. The marcs or cakes include ground-nut cake, 

 palm-nut cake, linseed cake, cotton-seed cake, and cocoanut cake, 

 used for cattle food ; and mustard, rape, castor oil, and undecorti- 

 cated cotton-seed cake used for manure. 



The following shows the progress of our imports of foreign oil-seed 

 cakes : 



Tons. Tons. 



1840 71,039 1870 158,453 



1850 .. .. 65,145 1875 180,379 



1860 108,826 1876 190,225 



The Castor Oil Plant (Bicinus communis). — Although a native 

 of India, this shrub is now widely distributed and cultivated in 

 various parts of the world. In its native country it is a perennial, 

 15 or 20 feet high, with a thick stem. In cold climates it becomes an 

 annual, There are many instances of perennial plants becoming 

 annuals by change of climate. 



The rapid growth of the plant is illustrated by an instance reported 

 in Tennessee. A castor bean was planted in May, 1871, in a garden 

 in Memphis, and in November it had grown to the height of 23 feet, 



