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1 Dec., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 423 
Hemp is the most remunerative of the agricultural products of Italy, 
partly on account of its own value, and partly because the large amount of 
residuary matter is subsequently of great value to the farmer. The Govern- 
ment statistics calculate the annual yield at 70,000 to 75,000 tons. ‘That this 
calculation yery much under-estimates the quantity grown seems tolerably 
certain, for the returns from the province of Emilia alone give us 40,000 tons ; 
Naples and Caserta, 18,400; which would only leave 11,600 for the provinces 
of Bologna and Ferrara, which are notoriously the chief producers of the 
article. The hemp of Bologna is especially noted for the great length of its 
fibre, which igs due to the unusual height (18 feet) to which the plant grows in 
that region. It possesses strong and tenacious properties, 
SESAME. 
Tie Sesamum is a showy annual plant, indigenous to India, Japan, and China, 
and is grown in large quantities on enormous areas in those countries as well 
as in Africa and Brazil. It is one of the oil-producing plants. ‘The oil is 
expressed from the seeds, and is of a straw colour, clear and sweet. It makes 
a good substitute for olive oil, and, unlike the latter, it will keep for years 
without becoming rancid. We mentioned in a previous number of the Journal 
that “Teel seed” was imported largely into England for the purpose of 
adulterating butter. The Sesame seed oil goes under the names of Gingelly, 
Til, or Teel oil. Itis used largely in cookery, and the plant, its seeds, and 
leaves can be put to so many uses as to make it one of the most valuable oil- 
yielding plants of the world. ; 
Mr. Lewis A. Bernays, in his work, “The Cultural Industries of 
Queensland,” mentions it ag such, and states that its cultivation is very simple. 
The seed is thinly sown in drills in spring, and the crop is harvested three 
months afterwards. It may be grown at high or low levels. 
That the crop is suited to a dry climate is evidenced by the fact that in 
Bengal Sesamum indicum is sown in February, and the crop is got in in three 
months afterwards, so that the dews and the little remaining moisture in the 
earth are the only sources of humidity by which it can benefit, as this is 
generally a period of drought. 
The plant sends up a four-cornered stalk from 2 to 4 feet high, with a few 
lateral branches. The long oval leaves are somewhat hairy and grow opposite. 
The stalks terminate in loose spikes of white or rose-coloured flowers, in shape 
like those of a foxglove. Apart altogether from its commercial value, it 
makes a charming garden plant. 
renee fruits are four-corned capsules, two-valved, about a quarter of an 
inch long. 
ite deeds are about the size of linseed. As soon as the seeds are ripe the 
stems are cut and sun-dried, and the seeds are threshed out in the ordinary 
manner adopted for rape and other seeds. } 
There is much difference in the colour of the oil, entirely due to the mode 
of preparation. 
The seeds must undergo a cleaning process by being repeatedly washed 
in cold water, or by boiling them till the whole of the colouring matter is 
removed and they become white. After this they are dried in the sun, and 
oil of a very pale straw colour is obtained. 
The yield of oil is very large, varying from 40 to 45 per cent. After the 
expression of the oil, the residuum is used as food for cattle. 
The leaves soaked in a tumbler of cold water (if dried, in hot water) make 
a mucilaginous drink, excellent for bowel disorders in children. The fresh 
leaves also make good poultices. The market value varies from £25 to £48 per 
ton. ‘The crop is easy to grow, and there is a ready market for the product. 
A small quantity is now growing at the Queensland Agricultural College, 
and, should it succeed, it will prove a valuable experiment, as no rain has 
fallen since it was sown, and yet it looks remarkably. succulent and healthy. 
