The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-26
THE sUNFLowER PLANT.
Its value and Some of the Uses It csn
 he Put To.

Its Value and Some of the Uses At can
 he Put To,
 Springfield, Mass. Republican.
 Recently the Department of Agricui- ture has been in receipt of numerous inquiries in regard to the growth or sunflowers for economical purposes. Careful investigation by the Depart ment reveals the fact first, that in west ern Europe and America the sunfiower has been grown chiefly for ornamental purposes or occasionally for poultry food. More varieties are grown purely for ornamental purposes than for the production of seedss but several of the ornamental sunfiowers are derived from other species. Tn Russia, where the numerous religious lasts restricting the use of meat lead to large consump- tion of vegetable oils and oily foods. the sunfiower seed has become almost staple article of diet. It Is eaten raw or roasted as peanuts are in Amer ica. but much more extensively.
 In the United States three principal varieties are grown for the production of seeds. The common sunfower, with no distinguishing varietal name, has been long cultivated here, and is now found in gardens in all parts of the country. Its holding heads are eight to sixteen inches in diameter, produc- ing chiefly gray-brownish or striped seeds. The mamouth Russian is a re- gently introduced variety, wtth~heads fifteen to twenty inches in diameter. producing seeds about one-half inch long with black or brownish stripes, or sometimes white. The black giant an- other variety, has heads sixteen to !. .twenty-two inches in diameter. with rather thick black seeds about three eighths inch long.
 As has been stated, the sunfower has long been grown here for ornamental purposes. The beautiful yellow flow CTS, with dark centers. are particularly attractive in yards and gardens. In some of the central States the sunflow- CT, in a much smaller form than the cultivated plant, grows wild. In Kan sas the borders of the wagon roads and railroads are frequently lined for miles with these flowers, which, in August and September, whent in full bloom, form a very marked feature of the parirfe landscape. While we have been cultivating the plant for it's beauty alone. we are only just beginning to recognize. from the experience of China and Russia, the economic value of the plant Itself. The part of the sunfiower plant which has the chief value is the seed, from which an edible oil may be extracted. The oil cake left after the extraction of the oil by pressure is ex- tremeIy rich in nitrogenous matter and has a food value equal to the cake resulting from the expression of maize oil or Iinseed oil. It is also stated that the leaves of the plant are sometimes used for the adulteration of tobacco, but 1t is hardly believed that thiis is practiced in this country. The bran ches and stalk of the sunflower, when reduced to a sufficient state of fine- ness, possess nutritive properties of high order, and furnish food suitable for the nourishment of many demesti- cated animals, such as horses, cattle and sheep.
 It Is undoubtedly true that the sum flower seed is valuable food when mixed in proper proportions with other food products. It improves the diges- tion of the animal. and therefore Is beneficial to its health. In fact, the seeds are used to large extent by horsemen and cattlemen for the pur- pose of keeping animals in excellent physical condition. The supposed efii- cacy of sunllower seeds for the-cure of certain diseases, such as rheumatism, is probably largely mythical. There is a very prevalent notion that the growth of large quantities of sunfiowers in nlalariaI regions prevents the develop ment of diseases of malarial origin, although this, too. is probably an H. Insion.