2i 8  Cultivation  of  Castor  Oil  Plant.     { Am- 1°™-  fhjarm- 
THE  CULTIVATION  OF  CASTOR  OIL  PLANT  AS  A  COM- 
MERCIAL POSSIBILITY.    RICINUS  CUMMUNIS, 
PALMA  CHRISTL1 
By  Joseph  L.  Lemberger,  Ph.M. 
Always  an  admirer  of  the  beautiful  Palma  Christi — a  thought 
possessed  the  writer  to  plant  some  of  the  seed  of  the  variety  known 
as  Ricinus  sanguineus — a  beautiful,  stately  and  highly  colored  plant, 
and  note  results  as  to  its  commercial  value.  My  experience  was 
satisfactory  beyond  expectation,  having  no  previous  thought  beyond 
that  of  an  ornamental  bush,  and  when  the  fact  has  materialized, 
that  if  the  castor  bean  can  be  cultivated  as  a  commercial  product 
a  large  agricultural  asset  will  be  attained. 
After  the  season  had  closed  correspondence  with  seed  crushers 
and  vegetable  oil  producers  has  convinced  me  that  the  subject  is  en- 
tirely feasible  and  deserves  more  than  passing  attention — weather 
conditions  appearing  as  the  only  doubtful  factor.  This  also  applies 
to  other  crops  as  well. 
The  cultivation  is  very  simple.  The  seed  will  germinate  almost 
anywhere  provided  the  soil  is  good.  Experiment  is  being  made  this 
summer  planting  the  seed  along  the  fences  where  the  plow  and  har- 
row cannot  be  used  and  only  when  the  commercial  fact  is  proven  or 
established,  need  we  think  of  field  culture. 
I  am  interesting  farmers  in  my  county  and  experiment  will  be 
made  on  a  much  larger  scale — will  try  some  waste  places  on  the 
farm,  and,  if  successful,  may  publish  the  results,  if  spared,  some 
future  time. 
It  will  be  interesting  to  know  that  there  is  not  at  this  time  any 
attention  paid  to  cultivation  of  castor  oil  beans  for  commercial  pur- 
poses in  this  country.  After  the  writer  began  formulating  this  paper, 
searching  for  data,  etc.,  reference  to  Professor  William  Procter's 
article  along  similar  lines  in  1855,  giving  a  particular  account  of  the 
mode  of  cultivation  in  Western  States  (American  Journal  of 
Pharmacy,  Vol.  28,  p.  99).  At  that  period  we  remember  the  St. 
Louis  brand  castor  oil  stenciled  on  the  boxed  containers  and  barrels 
of  castor  oil.  The  present  generation  of  pressers  of  the  castor  oil 
seed  know  nothing  of  the  industry  of  that  period  and  it  is  evident 
1  Proc.  Perm.  Ph.  Assoc.,  1916,  p.  209. 
