The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-10
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
Blu RE AU
FREDERIC +. HASKIN, Director,
Washington, D. c.
A CRISIS IN CASTOR on.
Washington. D. c.

- CRISIS IN CASTOR OIL.
Washington, D. c., Aug. THE war
which has revived so many dead and
dormant industries in this country.
has added to its list the rebirth of
castor oil as an important American
product.
After a good many years of COM
parative obscurity the Ricinus Com
NUNS, or castor oil plant, has become
for the time being at least, an indis-
pensable part of our national scheme
of things. Thru the direction of the
department of agriculture, more than
| 100000 acres of the plant have been
grown in the southwestern and south
ern states during the last year. par
ticularly in California.
The reason is simple enough. Cas-
| tor oil, besides being a valuable medi-
cine, is now essential as a lubricant.
Certain types of aeroplanes, especially
the advanced training plane, cannot
be successfully operated without its as
sistance. Gas, in motors of this sort,
| is brought thru the crank case where
| it comes in contact with the oil. Cas-
tor oil, happily. is but slightly soluble
| affected by it. No other lubricant
seems to perform this function ade-
| quately.
When the first features of the air
| craft program were agreed upon,
after the United States went into the
war, the directors of the program were
confronted with the fact that millions
of gallons of castor oil must be Sc
| cured for the fabrication of rotary
aviation motors. The available sup
ply at that time was only 100000 sal
Ions. The affair had such serious
aspect that the secretary of war APP
| pointed a board to deal expressly with
| the problem. This board included rep
I resentatives of the department OF
| agriculture, the aviation section of the
| nrfh JIra NJ
war trade board, and few civilian
| experts
Sometime before this a few Ameri-
who were informed regarding the
situation in lubricants. advocated an
| extensive planting of the Ricinus
Communis in such parts of the coun-
| try where the climatic conditions
! favored a successful crop. Among
Horwitz, a Philadelphia society leader.
who had experimental with the plant
on her estate at Moorehaven. Fla, and
| had achieved very gratifying results
| The first provision of the castor oil
! productions board. appointed by Sec
| rotary Baker, was to arrange the
planting of 100000 acres in castor
| beans in this country. in Cuba, Haiti,
| Santo Domingo and elsewhere. This
| was done under government. contracts
G
individual farmer to cultivate the cas-
| tor oil plant by fixing a minimum
price of $3.50 for the beans. Enough
| of them responded to add materially
| to the size of last years crop.
Thru the British government the
board arranged to have the steamship
"-.delaide" sent from Bombay to this
country with a cargo of 5000 long tons
of, castor beans. OF this about 200
tons were used as seed, and the rest
| int 1uh inO nj J1ga
on army aeroplanes. More than
| 100000 gallons of oil were acquired in
this manner. The board also secured
million gallons of oil in England,
where the Ricinus Communis Is grown
to some extent. and shipped it direct
to France. In all about 100000
gallons were secured.
Castor oil, It may be noted, is not
essential as a lubricant for the Liberty
motor or for most other motors built
on the reciprocating plan, but 1t is alb
solutely needful for motors of the ro-
tary type. A large number of these
motors are now in use en- the west
ern front, and a great many more are
being constructed. Most of the air
service training planes have rotary
| motors. One hundred and fifty of
these have been built, and about a
third of that number are in the pro-
cess of assembly. The new single
seated pursuit planes will also have
rotary motors. 1t will be seen then
that castor beans must be an i'm
portant part of our crop production
for the next few years.
Castor oil plants are not native to
Am erica. so far as is known, they be-
long primarily TO tropical Africa, but
they have been most successfully and
probably grown in India. They have
, been tried out in Italy and other
good results. Something more than
forty years ago the plant was intro
duced in this country and it thrlved
amazingly in the warm sunshine and
fertile soil of California, Kansas. Mis-
, souri, and a few other states. NJ For g
few years small crops were sown regu-
larly. The demand for castor oil al
that time was limited to medicinal
} uses, and for some processes of manu-.
facture. So much oil was imported
from Calcutta and elsewhere. and sc Ii
SO cheaply, that the American plant.
ers could find no market, and the
2 Ricinus Communis gradually disap
peared from our fields
Every effort is now being expended
to restore it. The experiment shoult
be a profitable one for farmers ant
Y gardeners because a single acre will
= yield enough beans to make twent,
=
growing of the plant is not difficult
: but it entails more or less attention
7 and care. The beans should be sow
singly in pots, and late in February o.
early March should be placed in heat
S 1t is best that young plants be KEEP
under glass covering until about tn
first of June, when they should b.
hardened and may be put out.
The Ricinus Communis yields I
2 three celled capsule, each cell con
tanning single seed. The seeds diffe
in coloring and size according to tn
e variety of the plant. They are rem
: dered poisonous by tissue of toxi
= | substance.
Oil for use in aviation engines. an,
T for other purposes, is secured from tn
r beans by two methods. The formul
in most general use requires that tn
beans be crushed cold between roller
and then pressed in hydraulic press