SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
the husks are removed and the seeds swept up and collected. Capsules are also 
gathered from wild plants, and the seed obtained in the same manner. 
India is the principal producing country, exporting annually about 1,800,000 
ewts. of beans. “In addition, about 1,500,000 gallons of oil are exported annually 
from seed crushed in India. Before the war about 400,000 gallons of .this oil 
were exported to Australia. 
4. Hatraction of the Oil—Castor beans are crushed by crude native machinery 
in India as well as by more modern machinery.. Beans imported to Europe are 
crushed chiefly at Hull and Marseilles by methods similar to those adopted for - 
other oil seeds. ‘The only firm in Australia which manufactures the oil from 
imported seed is Lycett Proprietary Ltd., Normanby-road, Montague, Melbourne. 
For the finer grades of oil, selected seed is taken, the husk removed, and the 
soft kernels expressed in the cold. The colourless oil thus obtained is free from 
the poisonous principle—ricin—which is present in the seeds. The remaining 
cake ig pressed again, yielding inferior oil. 
Inferior seed is hot-pressed directly, or else the oil is extracted by solvents. 
The solvents used are carbon bisulphide or aleohol. ‘The oil is subsequently re- 
fined by steaming. 
The beans contain 46 to 53 per cent. of oil, about 40 per cent. being obtained 
by expression. ‘The residual cake is not available for stock feeding, since it 
contains the poisonous ricin, It is, however, as already mentioned, a useful 
manure. : 
5. The Castor Plant in Australia—The castor plant grows wild in many parts 
of Australia, particularly in Western Australia, along the Torrens River in 
South Australia, and in the neighbourhood of Sydney. Mr. W. M. Doherty, F.I.C., 
stated in a communication to the Industrial Section of the Royal Society of New 
South Wales, in April, 1918, that he had collected seeds from a vigorous plant 
growing in sand near the shore of Botany Bay, and he exhibited samples of oil 
crushed from the seed of two varieties grown at Wamberal, near Gosford, New 
South Wales. ‘The analysis of the oil was quite satisfactory. 
Lycett Pty. Ltd. have tested two samples of seed from Western Australia on a 
laboratory scale, and obtained 47 and 49 per cent. of oil respectively, as against _ 
53 per cent. from Caleutta and Java beans. This is high enough to form a paying 
proposition, provided the seed could be obtained in sufficient quantities. 
6. Prospects of the Industry—Castor oil is used largely as a lubricant for 
machinery, especially in warm climates, and its use has been increased lately in 
Europe and the United States owing to the demand for it as a lubricant for 
- aeroplane engines. The present price of the seed in Australia is £20 to £25 per 
ton c.i.f. Melbourne, and the demand is about 200 tons per month. Before the 
war the price was £11 to £13 per ton, but it is improbable that prices will ever 
again fall as low as this. 
The crop, as already indicated, is a quick-growing one, and seed can be 
harvested within six to ten months. ‘The chief drawback is undoubtedly the 
labour required in gathering the seed. In addition, there is no experience avail- 
able in Australia as to the best cultural methods, nor as to the best varieties of 
seed for cultivation. Lycett Pty. Ltd. are prepared to supply Indian seed to 
intending cultivators. 
Belo) 
