when the sun was at its hottest. At night they were placed in a heap in the store-room. Not a drop 

 of rain was allowed to touch them, end they were not washed. After about 6 days, the bean breaks 

 easily, and if properly cured, should be of a good chocolate colour without any white skin between the 

 component parts, of a vinous smell, and a sweet (not bitter) taste. Half of the beans were clayed with 

 red clay, but this operation made no difference in the final result, and is evidently useless. The cured 

 beans were shown to Mr. Bravo, a manufacturer of Chocolate in King St., Kingston, and he pronounced 

 them equal to Trinidad for his purpose. It is strange that he should have to import Cacao from Vene- 

 zuela, and Trinidad, and pay the duty because he cannot get native Cacao properly cured. 



Taking a hint from Mr. Bravo, another experiment was made, which varied from the first in the 

 following point : — The beans were not taken out of the pods, and placed in a barrel, but the pods were 

 simply cut in half, and thrown into a heap with plenty of banana leaves over them. The temperature 

 rose gradually from 92° on the first day to 106° on the sixth. Mr. Bravo pronounced this sample to be 

 better than the first, very much like some Trinidad, but inferior to some samples from Venezuela. 



Only experience can determine exactly the best conditions necessary for first class curing, but 

 these experiments show that by the method of washing and simply drying the beans without any fer- 

 mentation, our settlers are just throwing money away. The beans are good enough, it is the want of 

 curing which produces the inferior chocolate. 



These results are due to the careful way in which the experiments were carried out by Mr. Harris 

 the Superintendent of Hope Gardens. 



It would help settlers very much if the clergy, school teachers, and others interested, would try 

 to impress on their minds the following few directions for curing Cacoa : — 



Never let a drop of rain or water touch the beans. 



Never wash them. 



Cut the pods in two, and pile them in a room or shed in a heap with plenty of banana or plantain 

 leaves over them. 



After from 4 to 6 days, spread them out in a thin layer in the sun. 



In the middle of the day when the sun is too strong, shade them. 



Turn them over now and then, rub between the hands, and pick out the trash. 



After 4 or 5 days the beans will be cured, if they break easily ; if the colour is dark chocolate, not 

 red ; if there is no white skin inside ; if it tastes sweet, not bitter. 



CASTOR OIL PLANT. 



The Castor Oil plant (Ricinus communis, L.) is now extensively cultivated in India and the United 

 States, and the oil, if carefully extracted, is a valuable product. As the plant grows in Jamaica like a 

 weed, it would probably pay to cultivate it. On many sugar estates, it is found necessary to allow the 

 land to go into ruinate, piece by piece, in order that it may recover from the exhaustion incidental to 

 the growth of the cane when sufficient manure has not been applied. In Europe, rotation of crops, as 

 well as artifical manures, have taken the place of the old method of leaving the ground fallow, and it is 

 possible that castor oil may be a suitable plant to succeed the sugar-cane, and to grow in exhausted, 

 coffee fields. Jn some parts of the world, it is grown merely for the sake of improving the land. The 

 refuse of the seeds after the extraction of the oil, is also a valuable manure. 



The soil best suited for the Castor Oil is a sandy loam. There are a great number of varieties sown 

 with small and others with large seeds. The small seeds are considered to afford the best oil for medi- 

 cinal purposes, and it isjtherefore advisable to cultivate only these varieties. The cultivation is simple, and 

 similar to that of corn (maize). 



The yield varies from 15 to 50 bushels (of 461bs.) to the acre ; and lOOlbs. of good seed yield about 

 5 gallons of oil. 



In order to harvest the seed, the best plan is to cut the pods when they are just turning brown 

 and put them on a barbecue. When the pods have all burst, the empty husks can be picked up, and 

 the seeds swept together and collected. The same care should be taken as in coffee, cacao and pimento 

 ■to prevent rain touching the seeds ; if there are more than 50 acres under cultivation, a drying house is 

 necessary. 



To extract the oil the simplest way is to bruise the seeds in a mortar and then boil them in bags 

 under water. The use of the bags is to retain mucilaginous matter and other impurities, while the oil 

 risesto the surface, is drawn off, strained, and bottled. But oil prepared in this way, is only fit for lu- 

 cubration, illumination, &c, not for medicinal purposes. 



The preparation by expression is far superior. The first requisite is to get rid of the hard skin. On 

 a small scale this may be done by pounding gently in a mortar, but it is more conveniently effected by 

 passing the seeds between two rollers, set just at such a distance from each other as to break the skin, 

 though sometimes the seeds are allowed to be slightly crushed. The seeds are cleaned by winnowing, 

 and carefully picking over. The details of the further processes differ very much, but there are two 

 principal plans of procedure. 



In India, a plan somewhat like the following is employed. The cleaned seeds are put into hempen 

 bags, and pressed in moulds into the shape of bricks. The bricks are placed in layers in a hydraulic press, 

 oach layer being separated by a sheet of iron heated to 90°. The pressure is applied gradually, and the 

 -oil thus obtained is of the first quality. The crushed mass is again subjected to pressure with the 

 jflates heated at 100°. This gives a second quality of oil. After standing for some time, a sediment is 

 deposited, the oil is drawn off, and filtered through flannel bags. 



Another system, which is preferred in California, is as follows : — The shelled seeds are placed in a 

 shallow iron reservoir, and submitted to a gentle dry heat, not greater than can be borne by the hand£ 



