January, 1910.] 



9 



Oils and Fats. 



count of the competition which must 

 inevitably ensue. 



The principal oil seeds grown in the 

 Transvaal at present are peanuts, castor 

 beans, sunflower seed, .and cotton seed, 

 but there are others well worth atten- 

 tion, 



Dealing with those in the order named 

 we find that peanuts have been grown 

 extensively, and if prices prove remuner- 

 ative, will be grown on a larger scale. 

 There is a great deal of light soil well 

 adapted to this crop ; but the trouble 

 has been in the harvesting— the cost of 

 labour eating up nearly the whole profit. 

 With improved implements this will 

 be avoided to a great extent, and the 

 "Rice" peanut harvester, now under 

 trial, may solve this difficulty. Another 

 solution to be found is the choice of 

 variety, and reports have reached me 

 from many districts that the Viriginian 

 " Bunching" variety gives less trouble 

 than any other. 



Another trouble has been that, al- 

 though the plants grow well and pro- 

 duce pods plentifully, many of the 

 pods are empty, This may be accounted 

 for by the abnormally wet season, 

 fertilisation being interfered with. It 

 is not proved yet whether the plants 

 are self-polinated or not, and undoubt- 

 edly the drenching rains would have 

 a disastrous effect in the latter case. 

 Peanuts should be marketed clean and 

 dry, and, if possible, without the pod. 

 Before expressing oil, the seed have to 

 be cleaned of the inner skin, which 

 would impart a bitter flavour. Any 

 process which can be easily and cheaply 

 performed on the farm to prepare seeds 

 for crushing will, naturally, result in a 

 higher price being obtained from the 

 manufacturer, and the initial outlay on 

 a small dessicating machine will soon 

 be covered by the enhanced value of 

 the product. 



Castor beans have not so far won a 

 high opinion from the farmer as afford- 

 ing a profitable crop. This is probably 

 due to the fact that the wrong variety 

 has been planted and by a wrong 

 method. In India and United States 

 the only profitable form of cultivation 

 has been found to be that in which the 

 plant is treated as an annual, and the 

 maximum number of plants grown to 

 the acre. In the United States the 

 best results are obtained by planting 18 

 inches apart in rows 4 feet asunder. In 

 India the plants are generally employed 

 as a shade to the young rice plants and 

 pulled up as soon as the seed is ripe. 

 This method of treatment could only 

 be employed where there is a long 

 growing season free from frost. The 



variety which under these circumstan- 

 ces gives the .largest yield is the small- 

 seeded one ; and the seeds of this 

 variety also yield a higher percentage 

 of oil- The whole of the plants, with the 

 exception of seed, should be ploughed 

 in as manure, and the waste from the 

 oil factory also affords a manure rich in 

 potash. 



Castor oil plants require feediug, and 

 will not yield good harvests if starved— 

 in which they resemble most other 

 plants. They should therefore only be 

 grown as rotation crops, and follow 

 mealies with good results. 



Sunflowers appear to be growing in 

 favour. The cultivation is simple and 

 the returns good. In wet summers there 

 are likely to be numerous empty fruits, 

 this may deter some from making a 

 second experiment. Sunflower seed oil 

 is of great value as a basis of fine soaps, 

 especially shaving soap, and for mixing 

 the finer and lighter shades of paint. 

 For the latter purpose it is considered 

 superior to linseed oil, as it does not dry 

 yellow. The Russian variety which has 

 been introduced by the Department of 

 Agriculture gives the largest returns. 

 The oil is also largely used for food 

 purposes. 



Cotton seed is now been grown ex- 

 tensively in the lowcountry. It is only 

 in the warmer parts of the Transvaal 

 that good results can be expected of this 

 crop. The seed gives a certain amouut 

 of trouble in its preparation for oil 

 manufacture, owing to fluff remaining 

 on the seeds after ginning. Several 

 processes are necessary before it can be 

 extracted. But the whole seeds furnishes 

 such a number of products that the 

 labour is rewarded. Linters as the fluff 

 is termed, and husks, or ''hulls," furnish 

 material for paper ; the hulls are an 

 excellent substitute for bran, and can 

 be utilised for fuel and the ash for 

 fertiliser. The kernels, after giving up 

 their oil, form a most nutritious food 

 for live stock of all kinds, and also are a 

 valuable fertiliser. 



Cotton seed has one drawback — it 

 cannot be stored in bulk for any length 

 of time, owing to its capacity for heating. 

 Heating destroys its qualities for all 

 purposes but that of manure. There- 

 fore cotton seed should be marketed 

 immediately after ginning, and should 

 be treated for oil as soon after its arrival 

 at the mill as is possible. For this reason 

 cotton oil mills are usually found close to 

 the cotton plantations, easily accessible 

 to the producers, and in fact are in some 

 cases an adjunct of the ginnery. 



In addition to the abovementioned 

 seeds there are several worth attention 



