Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1906-02-22
THE BIG SUNFL0WER
IRIS NAlgAsls eLa>T HAS GREAT
ECONOMIC VALUE,

so 80
MAJ re Made a scarce ef
10 CaltivstorS-It L. LegscaliS Our
N~nttoaSl Flower.
The Saaaower might IL a Q ap
progsyate choice FOR the national dover
az ear COUNTRY, >,uce il originated here
in the regions al the great plains
SVNcmeaS q Il were taken 6 o Europe
by the early spanish explorers and il
wsS frSt cultivated in the old world
"a Ire gardens OF Madrbd The plant
was Ga.-ea nv the American Indians
loas le.0re the days Of Columbus
Campau when he visited Georgian
bay in 1915 found the abor5SneS there
craving Il and using the oil made from
the seeds on their hair. Ii was raised
chiefly for the sake OF the food which
It's SEEDS supplied To SO high a point
had ii been developed by the natives on
this continent that during the three and
a half centuries which have elapsed
since its adoption by the white men it
has not been improved TO any extent.
merely retaining the original size which
distinguished il from its wild original.
In Russia the plant is OF great eco
nomic importance, its seeds being eaten
in immense quantities, raw or roasted.
Just as we eat peanuts. The oil OBJ
tanned by pressing the seeds is also
widely used as an article of diet. The
stalks and oil cakes make excellent fod-
der. the leaves are employed as a sub
stitute for tobacco, and the fiber of the
stalks has a high value. The oil of the
sunfiower is widely employed in Rus
STA. where the frequent religious feasts
restrict the use of meat There are
three principal varieties cultivated in
the cars t~erritory-one with large
white. seeds. which are said TO yield the
most oil: one with smaller black seeds.
which are sweeter and considered the
best for eating. and an intermediate
form with striped seeds, used both for
eating and the production of oil.
The sunfower has assumed a greater
economic value in Russia than in any
other, country. Even by the upper
classes the seeds are much eaten. the
l1EGtI anu nnCE OItc btiHE t0udl W
most nuts in palatability and whole
someness While the poorer and less
perfect seeds furnish an oil which is
somewhat turbid and bitter, the better
ones yield a superior quality that is
said to compare favorably with the
olive oil of The stalks and
straw of the sunfower are highly priz-
ed as fuel. being in some parts of the
empire the only available substitute
for wood to burn. Sunfiower oil seems
TO have more of the general properties
of olive oil than any other known sub
stitute. OF late years, when purified,
it has been used extensively to adulter-
ate olive oil. 1t is of a pale yellOwiSh
color and decidedly %palatable. In a
crude state it is used by painters, but
to no very great extent, being mixed
with cheap paints and prepared stains,
but 1t does not equal linseed oil for
varnish. The cake left after the ex-
traction of the oil by pressure is ex-
uremely rich. being equal in this re-
spect TO the maize cake or llnseed cake.
Branches and stalks of the plant are
used for fodder and are highly nu-
tritious.
One of the many ways of utilizing the
seeds is practiced in the poorer dis
tricts of Europe, where a fair kind OF
bread Is made from them. Many cheap
cigars are made from the leaves of the
plant. When properly cured the leaves
make fair wrappers for cigars, and
they are employed to a greater extent
than Is generally thought. Pulverized
and used with an equal quantity Of to
bacco the combination is not so bad fol
pipe smoking. The sunflower gives
peculiar aroma to the tobacco which Ii
much liked by some smokers. CheaI
cigarettes are often adulterated witt
sunfiower leaves. In China the fiber OF
the stalks, which Is fine, silky and very
strong. is woven into silk fabrics, anf
It Is believed with the proper machin
cry 1t might be utilized with mucl
profit In this country.
1t is an interesting fact that the va
riety OF sunfower most grown in thi
country is called the Russian. Farm
ers say that nothing fattens chicken
so quickly as the seeds OF this plant
which seem to encourage hens 10 lay
Paper has been made from the stalks
but in the treeless region where tn
sunfower is most extensively grow
their highest value Is for fuel.
Though the economic value Of tn
suniower has been but recently a sxs
ject Of discussion. its aesthetic valu
has long been recognized. In Kansa
the borders Of wagon roads and raj
roads are frequently lined for mile
with the blossoms. which in Angus
and September. when the flowers ar
In full bloom, are a feature OF tn
prairie landscape. These are not tn
large flowers grown In our garden
FOR ornamental purposes. but are
smaller variety. which grows Wild
rr~-~ v~~L rIr~oyH