CULTIVATION  AND  PREPARATION  OF  CASTOR  OIL  IN  ITALY.  59 
withdrawal  of  the  fingers.  The  distance  between  the  plants 
should  be  about  3J  feet.  After  fifteen  or  twenty  days  the 
young  plants  will  have  sprung  up  to  a  height  of  about  two 
inches,  and  the  women  again  visit  the  fields  for  the  purpose  of 
selecting  the  strongest  plants  in  each  bunch,  destroying  the 
others  and  earthing  up  the  chosen  one.  After  another  fifteen 
days,  the  plants  having  attained  a  height  of  about  eight  inches, 
a  plough  usually  drawn  by  two  oxen  is  passed  between  them,  to 
turn  more  soil  into  the  furrows,  and  the  women  following,  earth 
up  the  plants,  leaving  only  the  leaves  uncovered.  Later,  the 
"  incahation"  as  it  is  called,  is  repeated  with  the  spade,  and  the 
plants  being  now  sufficiently  strong,  are  left  to  themselves. 
The  seeds  begin  to  ripen  early  in  September,  when  women 
with  baskets  on  their  arms  make  a  daily  gathering  of  the  ripe 
grains,  passing  by  each  plant  every  two,  three  or  more  days, 
according  to  the  intensity  of  the  heat.  As  soon  as  gathered, 
the  seeds  are  spread  out  on  an  open  floor,  to  insure  their  being 
dry,  and,  as  they  retain  the  outer  covering,  are  called  u  Ricino 
investito."  To  obtain  the  seeds  as  they  are  met  with  in  com- 
merce, the  following  means  are  adopted  :■ — A  layer  of  about  two 
inches  of  "  Ricino  investito  "  is  spread  over  the  wooden  floor  of 
the  barn,  and  a  man  without  shoes  takes  an  implement  made  of 
a  flat  piece  of  wood  about  twenty  inches  square,  underneath  which 
is  attached  a  layer  of  cork  about  two  inches  in  thickness,  fitted 
with  a  handle  springing  at  right  angles  from  the  wood,  so  that  it 
may  be  used  by  the  man  standing.  This  implement  is  pushed 
backwards  and  forwards,  running  gently  over  the  seeds,  so  as  to 
break  up  the  integument,  which  is  subsequently  winnowed  away. 
The  seed  with  double  covering  yields  about  66  per  cent,  of  the 
commercial  article. 
As  soon  as  the  gathering  of  the  seed  is  over,  the  plants  are 
cut  down  and  tied  in  bundles,  which  are  left  out  to  dry,  and 
used  in  the  winter  for  fuel.  The  winnowed  integument  is  also 
used  for  burning  in  stoves,  or  for  mixing  with  stable  manure  for 
vine  dressing.  Finally,  when  the  land  is  ploughed  up  in  Novem- 
ber, the  roots  are  collected,  dried,  and  used  for  burning.  A 
certain  oleaginous  principle  appears  to  pervade  the  whole  plant, 
rendering  it  useful  as  a  heat-giving  and  brilliant  combustible. 
