June, 1912.] 



495 



Oils and Fats 



ducing the number of seeds to be plant- 

 ed in each hill to 3 ; if the seed is 

 fresh and good and the weather con- 

 ditions are favourable it is very im- 

 probable that all three seeds will fail 

 to germinate. 



Elsewhere it is recommended that the 

 seeds should be planted in rows 5 or 

 6 feet apart and at a similar distance 

 in the rows, smaller seeded kinds being 

 planted closer, say about 3 feet between 

 the rows and 18 inches between the 

 plants in the rows, and it is stated that 

 about 10 lbs. of seed of the large seeded- 

 varieties will be required to plant an 

 acre, and about 14 lbs. in the case of 

 small-seeded kinds. 



From our knowledge of the plant here 

 these distances seem to be too close and 

 those recommended for the Transvaal 

 appear to be better suited for a peren- 

 ial crop. 



In India the cultivation of castor plants 

 may be divided into two broad classes. 

 The large-seeded varieties are generally 

 grown during the monsoon rainfall .• in 

 some parts they are grown as field crops 

 but more usually as a border to cotton 

 or sugar-cane fields, or mixed with pota- 

 toes, cereals or some leguminous crop, 

 and frequently in small patches in house 

 gardens. 



The small-seeded varieties are usually 

 grown as field crops, being sown at the 

 end of the monsoon and the commence- 

 ment of the cold weather. 



It is stated that the plant soon ex- 

 hausts the soil and it is recommended 

 that a pure crop should not be taken 

 from the same land more than once in 

 five or six years. 



If virgin land is not available for the 

 crop, natural or artificial manures are 

 applied to keep up the supply of avail- 

 able nitrogen, potash and phosphoric 

 acid. 



Although the plant is not cultivated 

 in Jamaica, we know that semi-wild 

 bushes in waste places continue to pro- 

 duce fair crops of seed for ten years or 

 more, and if this result can be obtained 



without cultivation or care, it seems 

 reasonable to expect that cultivated 

 plants would produce paying crops for 

 at least five or six years. 



Time to plant in Jamaica. — Having 

 ploughed and prepared the land it would 

 appear that the best time to plant the 

 seed in Jamaica is towards the end of 

 September, just before the October 

 rains commence. 



Manuring.— For the first crop at least, 

 a good mulch of stable litcer or other 

 refuse will be beneficial and will prob- 

 ably supply all the nutriment required. 

 It will also prevent the growth of weeds 

 and retain sufficient moisture in the soil 

 during the dry months in the early part 

 of the year. 



The substances taken up by the plant 

 are partly locked up in the trunk, roots, 

 stems, leaves, etc., of the plant, but are 

 largely concentrated in the seeds and 

 capsules. In any case, only the two 

 latter are sold off the land. Assuming 

 that 1,000 lbs. of seeds and 800 lbs. of 

 husks or capsules are removed from each 

 acre per annum, the beans would contain 

 about 



35 lbs of combined nitrogen, 

 4 ,, potash, 



14 ,, phosphoric acid, 

 while the capsules or husks would prob- 

 ably contain 



13 lbs. of combined nitrogen, 



46 ,, potash, 

 2 ,, phosphoric acid. 

 Thus, if the capsules and their contents 

 be removed from the farm, the soil would 

 be robbed of about 



48 lbs. of combined nitrogen, 



50 „ potash, 



10 ,, phosphoric acid, 

 per acre per annum, which is about the 

 loss suffered by land bearing a good crop 

 of wheat — according to Warrington this 

 amounts to (30 bushels ot grain and 3,000 

 lbs. of straw per acre). 





In grain. 



In straw. 



Total, 





lbs. 



lbs. 



lbs. 



Nitrogen 



34 



16 



50 



Potash 



9-3 



19'5 



28-8 



Phosphoric acid 



14-2 



6-9 



21-1 



