628 
The  Castor-Oil  Bean. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pilar m. 
\  December,  1895. 
than  in  taking  care  of  a  crop  of  castor  beans.  The  work  is  all  light. 
With  a  steady  horse,  children  might  do  all  the  work. 
FROSTED  BEANS. 
Are  worth  from  one-half  to  two-thirds  the  price  of  good  beans, 
but  must  never  be  mixed  with  them  when  sent  to  the  market,  as  a 
very  few  frosted  beans  in  a  lot  of  good  will  reduce  the  value  very 
much,  from  the  inability  to  separate  them  economically. 
YIELD,  PRICE,  ETC. 
The  yield  will  depend  much  upon  the  culture  bestowed  upon  the 
crop,  upon  the  season,  and  the  care  exercised  in  gathering  and 
ripening  the  seed.  From  fifteen  to  twenty-five  bushels  to  the  acre 
is  an  average  yield.  Some  cultivators  will  yield  considerably  more, 
others  less.  Farmers  will  do  well  to  pay  attention  to  this  crop,  for 
which  a  certain  demand  exists,  and  at  remunerating  cash  prices.  It 
will  pay  better  than  raising  cotton,  corn,  potatoes,  wheat,  barley,  or 
almost  any  other  farm  produce.  It  is  not  a  difficult  crop  to  get  to 
market,  can  be  taken  by  team,  or  sent  by  railroad,  with  more  profit 
than  most  crops,  as  the  value  is  greater  for  the  same  quantity. 
Castor  beans  have  proven  a  profitable  crop.  Present  market  price 
is  $1.25  per  bushel. 
These  directions  for  the  cultivation  of  castor  beans  are  intended 
to  apply  to  our  latitude.  It  is  thought  they  are  sufficiently  explicit 
to  enable  any  one  to  successfully  attempt  their  culture. 
We  wish  again  to  urge  the  farmers  and  dealers  to  thoroughly 
clean  their  castor  beans  before  shipping  to  market.  Well-cleaned 
beans  will  always  bring  more,  and  it  is  a  disadvantage  to  all  but 
the  railroad  company  to  pay  the  freight  on  dirt,  chaff  and  hulls. 
Castor  beans  weigh  46  pounds  per  bushel.  The  principal  mar- 
kets for  us  are  New  York  City  and  St.  Louis.  The  freight  rate  per 
100  pounds  in  bags  or  barrels  is  79  cents. 
There  are  fixed  charges  for  inspecting  castor  beans  in  bulk  as  fol- 
lows :  two  dollars  ($2.00)  for  every  bulk  car  or  part  bulk  car ;  two 
(2)  cents  per  sack  for  every  car  sacks;  three  (3)  cents  per  sack  on 
less  than  carload  lots,  and  that  no  inspection  be  less  than  twenty- 
five  (25)  cents. 
GRADES  OF  CASTOR  BEANS. 
Prime  Beans  are  such  as  are  bright  and  uninjured,  and  weigh  not 
less  than  forty-one  (41)  pounds  to  the  measured  bushel  when 
cleaned. 
