March, 1909.] 



219 



OILS AND FATS. 



THE CASTOR-OIL PLANT. 



(Ricinus communis, L.) 



By Harold Cuzner, 

 Bureau of Agricultxire. 

 The castor-oil plant (tangan-tangan, 

 Tagalog), the seeds of which furnish the 

 castor-oil of commerce, is probably a 

 native of Africa, although it is found 

 growing wild in many tropical countries. 

 It has been so long in cultivation that 

 nothing is accurately known as to its 

 original habits. Long before the Chris- 

 tian era it was cultivated in India, and 

 its medicinal properties were known. 

 Its seeds have been found in ancient 

 Egyptian tombs, and its cultivation is 

 described in the writings of the Romans. 

 In Europe it was cultivated by Albertus 

 Magnus, Bishop of Ratisbon, in the 

 middle of the thirteenth century, and it 

 was known as a garden plant in the 

 time of Turner (1568), who mentions the 

 oil as "oleum cicimum vei ricinum." 



At the close of the same century 

 Gerardi was familiar with this plant 

 under the name of " ricinus " or " kili," 

 the oil of which, he states, was used in 

 the treatment of diseases of the skin. 

 After this the plant seems to have fallen 

 into complete neglect, in 1761 the seeds 

 being rarely found in druggists' shops 

 and the oil scarcely known. In 1764 it 

 was again brought to notice by Peter 

 Cavinano, a physician who had practised 

 for some time in the West Indies, in an 

 article entitled, '• Dissetration on the 

 Oleum Palma? Christi, sive Oleum 

 Ricini," in which he recommended it as 

 a purgative. 



The seeds were admitted to the Lon- 

 don Pharmacopoeia in 1788, and direc- 

 tions given for preparing the oil. At 

 this period and for many years there- 

 after the small supply of oil required in 

 Europe was obtained from Jamaica, but 

 it has gradually been displaced of late 

 years by the product of the East Indies 

 and India, where, it is stated, 330,000 

 acres were devoted to the growing of 

 the bean in 1890. 



The plant is also cultivated in Africa, 

 Italy, Central and South America, and 

 China, and in the United States in 

 Kansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Oregan, 

 and California. In these Islands it is 

 not cultivated, but has grown wild in 

 all parts of the Archipelago, and in 

 some sections of Negros and Midanao is 

 reported to be taking possession of the 

 laud. 



There are two forms of the plant, i.e., 

 the large and small-seeded varieties. 

 The large-seeded varieties give a rather 

 large amount of inferior oil, which is 

 used for lubricating, etc., while from 

 the small-seeded varieties the medicinal 

 oil is obtained. 



Kurz states that the plant yields a 

 white resin, but as no other writer 

 alludes to this it may be said not to 

 exist in any quantity worth considering. 



Aside from its use as an oil plant, its 

 principal value is as a food for the "eri" 

 silkworm in Assam, though it is stated 

 that paper pulp may be made from the 

 stems and bark. 



The seeds yield, on the average, from 

 46 to 53 per cent, of oil, though there 

 are occasional records of 60 per cent. 

 It is a thick, viscid oil, with a specific 

 gravity of about - 964, The pharmaceu- 

 tical product is almost colourless, 

 while the inferior grades are of a 

 greenish-yellow hue. The odour and 

 taste vary from the nearly odourless and 

 tasteless oils of the better grades to the 

 nauseating ones of the poorer grades. 



It is used for dressing leather, for 

 lubricating, and, in India, to some 

 extent for lighting purposes. Soap 

 and a mordant for Turkey red dye are 

 also made from the oil. 



The oil saponifies easily with caustic 

 soda and yield a clear, soluble product 

 which is used in the manufacture of 

 the cheaper grades of transparent soap, 

 However, it is not likely to be looked 

 upon with much favour for this pur- 

 pose, as it has a tendency to become 

 rancid in keeping, and owing to its 

 being extremely soluble, as stated above, 

 it is very wasteful. 



The mordant for the Turkey red 

 dye is made by treating the oil with 

 sulphuric acid in the proportion of 

 four parts of oil to. one of acid, It 

 should be stirred continually until 

 tli oroughly mixed, to avoid a rise in 

 temperature ; then allowed to stand 

 twenty-four hours and washed to get 

 rid of any fatty acids. 



The exportation of oil and beans from 

 India for the years 1885-1887 is given 

 as follows : — 



Ypfir Seed. 

 iea1, (Gallons) (Cwt). 



1885 ... 3,207,045 476,396 



1886 ... 1,190,885 670,537 



1887 ... 2,676,012 610,893 

 Various investigations have been made 



from time to time as to the value of 



