Junk, 1912.] 



497 



Oils and Fats. 



above should be encouraged. The 

 numerous uses to which the castor oil is 

 now applied ensures a ready sale for the 

 castor seed, and the present market 

 value of the latter provides, as a rule, 

 ample remuneration for the labour 

 involved. 



Yields.— In India, when grown as a 

 mixed crop, the yield of seed per acre is 

 about 250 lbs., and when grown as a pure 

 crop is from 500 to 900 lbs. per acre. 



In the United States the yield is said 

 to be from 900 lbs. to 1,350 lbs. per acre 

 when grown on suitable soil and with 

 good cultivation. 



In Brazil it is cultivated that in the 

 castor plantations each plant yields 

 from 4'5 to 11 '25 lbs. of seed, and I 

 venture to think that with good culti- 

 vation the yield in Jamaica will be 

 similar to that obtained in Brazil. 



Uses of Castor Oil. — Castor oil is now 

 extensively used in countries which 

 maoufacture large quantities of calicoes 

 and coloured cotton goods. 



The United Kingdom is the greatest 

 European consumer,** and of the other 

 principal consuming countries the United 

 States ranks easily among the first. 



The functions that castor oil performs 

 in industry and iu the arts are of great 

 economic importance, as becomes appa- 

 rent from a consideration of the varied 

 uses to which its peculiar properties 

 adapt it. 



The popular red, formerly known as 

 Adrianople red, but now commonly as 

 Turkey-red, famous for the permanency, 

 intensity, and beauty of its colour, owes 

 its quality of exceptional fastness to 

 castor oil. 



Probably the next most important 

 channel of consumption is the drug trade. 

 In addition to its common use as a pur- 

 63 



gative, rheumatism, lumbago, skin affec- 

 tions, cramps, colds, and a host of other 

 ills were popularly believed to yield to 

 its curative properties ; in fact, medi- 

 cinal use was a highly important element 

 in the castor-oil trade, 



Castor oil has many other and varied 

 uses. In British India it is reputed, 

 among other uses, to be extensively 

 used as a lamp oil, and reports of no 

 ancient date even refer to it as the 

 illuminating agent in railway cars. 

 Castor oil also has in some countries 

 extensive uses as a lubricant. In Aus- 

 tralia the chief use is officially stated 

 to be for this purpose. To a limited 

 extent this oil is used for lubricating 

 purposes in the United States. As is 

 well known, the mechanical function of 

 lubricating oils is to form a coating or 

 cushion between rotary surfaces, thus 

 keeping them free from contact and 

 preventing loss of power through frict- 

 ion. To this purpose castor-oil, being 

 heavy bodied, viscous, and non-drying, 

 is in most cases well adapted. It is the 

 heaviest of fatty oils, having a density 

 of C'96, and is particularly adapted to 

 the oiling of fast-moving machinery 

 because the heat generated keeps it in 

 a liquid state. Castor oil also has pro- 

 perties that adapt it to use in the dressing 

 of leather and a demand for limited 

 quantities exists in the United States, 

 especially in country districts, for dom- 

 estic use in oiling and softening boots, 

 shoes and harness. 



There are at present very considerable 

 areas of non-irrigable lands in dry dis- 

 tricts in Jamaica which are, therefore, 

 unsuitable for the cultivation of sugar- 

 cane, bananas or other staple crops, 

 consequently yielding little or nothing 

 of value, that might be planted with 

 the castor bean plant and made to pro- 

 duce profitable if not handsome returns 

 for the benefit of the owners. 



