Observations on the 
NO. 4. 
Observations on the Various Uses to which the Sunflower 
may be applied . By the Editor. 
THE advantageous employment of this plant does not 
appear to have been sufficiently appreciated. The ob- 
ject of this essay is to attract the attention of those who 
may have it in their power to pursue the enquiry to its 
full elucidation ; and it is expected, that this may be rea- 
dily accomplished by persons residing in the country, 
with little expense or trouble to themselves, and with real 
benefit to the community, if their experiments shall satis- 
factorily demonstrate the presumed merits of this very 
common and luxuriant product of the vegetable kingdom. 
In a letter, published in the first volume of the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Transactions, from Hr. Otto of Beth- 
lehem to Hr. Bond, we have an account of the oil pro- 
duced “ from the seeds of the common large sunflower,” 
by methods very similar to the extraction of linseed oil ; 
one bushel of the seeds yielded about three quarts of oil ; 
and he states that it was frequently used on sallad, for 
which it answered very well. The committee, to whom 
the specimen sent was referred, report it to be thin, clear, 
and agreeable to the taste, and are of opinion, that it 
“will supply the place of olive oil for the above, and 
many other purposes; and may, therefore, be looked 
upon as a valuable discovery to America. 
Immediately following this communication, is an essay 
by Hr. J. Morgan, “on the expressing of oil from sun- 
lower seed,” in which we are informed, that it is found 
from experiments, that a bushel of the seeds will yield, 
on expression, near a gallon of mild oil. And he gives 
the account, from a correspondent at Lancaster, of cer- 
tain results upon this subject, from which we learn, that 
