Oils and Fats. 



10 



[January, 1910. 



one of which is already grown in the 

 Transvaal, but not for oil. The soy bean 

 yields 18 per cent, oil of fine quality, and 

 is attracting the attention of oil manu- 

 facturers in Europe. This plant is 

 well known as a forage and green 

 soiling crop, and it is only to the 

 additional source of profit in the bean 

 itself that I would turn the atten- 

 tion of the farmer. The "cake" has 

 a high value for feeding purposes, as 

 is the case with all " oil cakes," except 

 castor oil cake, which is extremely 

 poisonous. 



Another of the seeds worth attention is 

 linseed, the oil from which is well known 

 and for which the demand always exceed 

 the supply. Linseed meal and cake are 

 also highly esteemed by stock raisers, 

 and it is satisfactory to know that there 

 are many farmers who realise the value 

 of these concentrated foods, and who 

 would readily purchase them, if they 

 could be produced locally at a moderate 

 price. I have heard it said by dairymen 

 that they should be obliged to charge 

 more for their milk if they fed their 

 cows on oil cake ; quite forgetting that 

 well-fed cows would give more, and 

 better, milk. A large increase in culti- 

 vation of oil seeds would have a far- 

 reaching effect if it made it possible for 

 a local oil factory to turn out oil cake at, 

 say, £5 per ton. There is, however, 

 another aspect to the question. Oil cake 

 is not the only by-product of oil seeds. 

 The cotton seed is merely a by-product 

 of the cotton fibre, but in the case of 

 sunflowers and linseed the fibre may be 

 considered as a by-product of the seed. 



The fibre of the sunflower is almost as 

 fine and strong as silk, and the greater 

 proportion of Chinese and Japanese silks 

 are largely adulterated with this fibre. 

 The clean fibre is worth upwards of 

 £20 per ton, and the preparation involves 

 little expense. The same may be said 

 of flax. In both cases ratting may be 

 postponed until the work of harvesting 

 is at an end, and the scutching can be 

 performed at any slack time. In the 

 case of sunflower fibre a few natives — 

 children — could do all that is required, 

 while flax requires rather more elaborate 

 arrangements. The cultivation calls 

 for no special notice. Sunflowers require 

 much the same treatment as mealies, 

 both in preparation of the soil and in 

 after-cultivation. 



Linseed or flax does best in newly- 

 broken soil, or soil that has been fallow- 

 ed ; and for fibre should be sown thickly, 

 to prevent branching, and by drawing 

 up the plants to produce longer fibres. 

 For seed production thinner sowing is 

 advisable. Usually the plants are 

 grown to produce both seed and fibre, 

 and although better results of one kind 

 might be obtained by growing for seed, 

 or for -fibre only, the difference is hardly 

 so great as to compensate for the loss 

 of the other product, and in practice i3 

 rarely done in the flax-producing coun- 

 tries of Europe, 



Hemp is another fibre-plant that 

 should succeed in deep and fairly moist 

 soils. The fib^e of hemp is unsurpassed 

 for ropes — it is stronger than mauilla, 

 and has twisting qualities unequalled 

 by any other fibre. The plant attains 

 large dimensions, which vary with soil 

 and climate. The usual height is from 

 8 to 12 feet, though in China 17 feet is 

 obtained. Every foot in length gives 

 150 lbs. of fibre to the acre. One-and- 

 a-half bushels of seed are usually sown 

 to the acre. The seed yields an oil of 

 no great value, and the cake is too 

 purgative for general use as a cattle 

 food. 



In conclusion, I would urge farmeis 

 to endeavour to attract a market by 

 growing marketable oil seed. 33,000,000 

 tons of peanuts are annually exported 

 from Madras to Marseilles. Soy beans 

 are being shipped from Manchuria to the 

 European ports. There is already an 

 oil, soap, and candle factory in the 

 Transvaal, and every prospect of further 

 undertakings of this nature. It should 

 be quite possible in the near future to 

 establish a cotton spinning industry. 



There is great talk just now of support- 

 ing local industries— a very patriotic 

 sentiment. It may not be forgotten, 

 however, that the producer has the same 

 duty to his country as the consumer, 

 and his business should be to produce 

 articles for which there is a local demand, 

 and of such quality as will attract the 

 consumer. The man of limited income 

 must necessarilly buy in the cheapest 

 market— that is to say, get the best value 

 for his money. It should be the aim of 

 the South African producer to supply 

 the best quality at the most moderate 

 price possible. 



