6 BULLETIN 867, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
shows the relative quantities of beans imported from various sources 
for the years 1912, 1914, and 1918. 
TaBLeE V.—Relative quantities of castor beans imported from various sources DES the 
years 1912, 1914, and 1918. 
Relative importations of 
castor beans (per cent). 
Source. 
1912 | 1914 1918 
Wiited Kaned orn .5 soe. ee se es ee ete ees as 0.06 
Sa i eae ce eae eee eee Sos octane eee ee oes $1.0 87.9 60. 00 
SouthvA Merigasc = oso ee ee oe ee een eee 4.6 1.0 19. 00 
Wiestiaidies:-c eee sae aa eee See eee eee ee eee aot | 5 8. 00 
1 Calculated from Table IIT. 
In 1918 the American castor-bean crop was estimated at about 
5,750 tons (250,000 bushels), or about one-fourth of the normal 
domestic consumption. The sudden cessation of hostilities, how- 
ever, together with the great impetus given to castor-bean cultiva- 
tion throughout the world, has resulted in an overburdened market, 
with consequent tendencies to lower the price and unload foreign 
stocks in the United States. This would certainly have a tendency 
to cripple the crushing industry here were it not for the high quality 
of oil produced. In fact, the best grade produced in this country 
is not excelled by any foreign producer, while some of our No. 3 
grade is as good as much of the imported first-grade oil. However, 
there is a growing tendency among foreign vegetable-oil producers 
to erect crushing mills near the areas of production of oleaginous 
materials, which would certainly seem in course of time to affect 
our supplies of raw material, with the consequent crippling of our 
miils. 
The relieving fone of this development is the intimate knowl- 
edge gained of the possibilities for creating a permanent American 
castor-bean industry. In the past this has been an actuality. 
Until about 1900 relatively large quantities of castor beans were 
raised in this country,' chiefly in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and 
Illinois, but in the face of successful foreign competition the pos- 
sibilities for development of the American crep disappeared. The 
great campaign of castor-bean growing inaugurated in 1917 by the 
Bureau of Aircraft Production has resulted in gathering considerable 
information concerning the growing of castor beans, such as yields 
per acre in different parts of the country and cost of handling, and 
we are now in a good position from the standpoint of knowledge of 
farming conditions to adopt intelligently whatever measures may be 
necessary to meet foreign competition. Most of the details of seed 
1 Yearbook, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1904, p. 295. 
¥ 
2 
PAINS Dinth) Sate envio 
