Oils and Fats. 



198 



[March, 1912. 



CULTIVATION OF THE CASTOR-OIL 

 PLANT. 



(Prom the Indian Agriculturist, Vol. 



XX^VL, No. 11, November 1, 1911.) 



The Department of Agriculture, 

 Burma, has issued the following Culti- 

 vator's Leaflet on the cultivation of the 

 Castor-oil plant : — 



The castor-oil plant is cultivated 

 chiefly for the oil which is yielded by 

 the seeds. This oil is used largely for 

 medicinal purposes, for lighting, for 

 lubricating and for several other pur- 

 poses. The " cake," which is the residue 

 left after extracting the oil from the 

 seeds, makes an excellent manure for 

 any kind of soil, but cannot be fed to 

 cattle. The plant is also cultivated in 

 some places as food for " Eri " silk- 

 worms which live on the leaves. 



Though a very inferior variety of 

 castor plant grows wild iu Burma, it has 

 not been cultivated to any extent up to 

 the present time. By sowiug the larger 

 seeded varieties now grown in India, a 

 goad profit can be made on suitable soil, 

 with very little expanse for cultivation. 

 Much waste land is suitable for castor 

 cultivation and will give large yields. 



There are several varieties, some 

 having large seeds and some smaller 

 seeds ; some being sown during the 

 rainy season and some at the beginning 

 of the cold weather. Two of the best 

 varieties— a large-sized one and a small- 

 sized one— are both sown at the begin- 

 ing of the rainy season and ripen their 

 seeds during the cold weather. 



Soils Suitable. 

 This plant is not very exacting as 

 regards soil. Any kind of soil which is 

 open and porous will do very well. Stiff 

 clay soils which do not allow water to 

 pass through them should, if possible, be 

 avoided for this crop, but red soils and 

 coarse sandy soils at the foot of hills are 

 especially suitable. Even poor sandy or 

 gravelly soils will produce a crop of 

 castor-oil beans. 



Preparation op the Land, 



Before the rains begin the land should 

 be cleared of jungle, and after the first 

 showers it snould be ploughed twice 

 with the hfe. If the soil is poor, manure 

 should be applied, if it can be obtained, 

 and ploughed or harrowed in. After- 

 wards harrow well with the hton. 



Sowing. 



Sowing may be done at any time from 

 May to July. The seed should always 

 be sown in rows as follows 



Distance be- Distance between 

 tween rows, plants in rows 



Large varieties ... 6 feet. ... 5 feet 

 Small varieties ... 4 ,, ... 2 ,, 



Make small pits or holes at the proper 

 distance apart and two inches deep ; and 

 into each hole drop two to four seeds. 

 Cover up with soil and press down 

 lightly. If the soil is very dry, water 

 should be put in each hole. 



The cold weather varieties are sown 

 in exactly the same way as above except 

 that sowiug is done about September. 



About 10 or 11 lbs. of seeds will be 

 sufficient to sow one acre, 



Weeding and After Treatment. 



When sowing is done in rows, it is 

 easy matter to weed. Bullock hoes or 

 other weeding implements may be used 

 to reduce the hand labour. The land 

 must be kept free from weeds and the 

 surface soil loosened by hoeing. The 

 life may be used between the rows, but 

 the hoe will be necessary near the plants. 

 Irrigation is not necessary. 



Harvesting. 



In about seven mouths after sowing 

 the fruits begin to ripen and should be 

 picked by hand as they become brown 

 and hard. Picking generally continues 

 till about nine months after sowing. 

 The remaining leaves may then be fed 

 to cattle and the stalks cut for firewood. 

 In some cases, however, the trees con- 

 tinue to bear fruits for a much longer 

 period and may be left until they no 

 longer yield profitably. 



After picking the capsules should be 

 heaped up, covered with straw and 

 weighted with soil or any other con- 

 venient substance, After about a week 

 the capsules will be found to be rotten 

 and should then be thoroughly dried in 

 the sun. When well dried beat with 

 a stick to extract the seeds. Con- 

 tinue to dry the remaining capsules and 

 beat again until all the seeds are obtain- 

 ed. Separate the seed from the broken 

 capsules and spread out to dry ; after 

 which it may be stored, crushed or sold. 



One acre will easily yield 500 lbs. of 

 cleaned seed— a yield of 1,200 or 1,300 lbs. 

 of beans has often been obtained— whilst 

 the cost of cultivation is very small 

 indeed, 



Disposal of Produce. 



The seed may be sold or crushed to 

 obtain oil. There are several methods 

 of obtaining the oil from the seed : — 



(a) By the ordinary "Usee z6n" or 

 Sesamum oil-mill. The seed is put 

 into the mill and crushed in the same 

 way as Sesamum seed. Sometimes the 



