The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-04-12
CASTOR OIL IS
 NECESSITY FOR
 FLYING MACHINE

The flying machines above the l batlsfields of Europe are making | new call upon the farmers and mau- ufacturers of the United States Not l content with large quantities of gaso-
 lene which they are drawing from this the greatest gasOlene producing coun- try of the world, they are now de- manding castor oil Under the rapid changes in temperature and air pres sure which these machines must en- counter in constant transitions from low to high elevations, they must have a lubricant which will flow under all
 conditions of temperature and atmos-
 pheric pressure, forming thin film
 over evrey bearing and which will not carbonize. Castor oil has been found the most satisfactory lubricant under the circumstances, and as a consequence hurry calls have come to the United States, which is a limited producer of castor oil. for such sup plies as may now be available and for a great increase in production as soon as this can be accomplished.
 United States is probably the second world producer of castor oil, of which the worlds demands have so constant ly and unexpectedly developed. A compilation by The National City Bank of New Yo n shows that the production of castor oil in the United States prior to the war aggregated something more than s1,000,000 per annum in value. Much of this out put of the factories of the United States was produced from castor beans imported from India, the worlds chief sourse of that product. For merly the United States produced, especially on the Pacific Coast and in the Southern States, considerable quantities of the castor bean, but when the development of petroleum industry produced more satisfact
 ory lubricating oil and at much less expense, the castor bean and oil in- dustry failed to keep pace with the growth of other manufacturing in- dustries of the country. As a conse- quence most of the castor beans used in producing the more than $1,000,- 900 worth of castor oil annually turned out in the United States have been imported, the quantity entering the United States have been in 1913 344,- 900 bushels; in 1916 when the im- portance of the oil for aeroplanes be- gan to be recognized 1,o35,oo0 bushels and in 1917 1,041 ,000 bushels. Mean time the countries of Europe recog- ing the importance of this lubricant for the flying machines used in the war, intensified their demand upon India, Germany doubled her imports of castor beans and castor oil in 1913 and the first half of 1914, and the total exports of castor oil from India jumped from S98,000 gallons in 1914 15 to 1,723,0O0 gallons in 1916-17, while the quantity of castor beans exported from that country also show ed slight increase in the same per iod. No figures are available as to the actual quantity of castor oil pro- duced in India. This exportation from 1,0O0,0 900 to 2,OOO,0eO gallons of oil from India form comparative ly small proportion of the product, sine it is still used in that country as a burning oil for lamps also as a lubricant and in the manufacture of leather. The chief exports of the oil and beans prior to the war were to Great Britain, United States, France and Germany. At present the entire available supply of both seed and oil go to Great Britain and her Allies.
 Other countries which have deve1- oped the production of this oil are China, Indo-China, Java, South Af- rica, the United States and certain countries of South America, especially Brazil where it grows rapidly where ever introduced, having been before the war looked upon as an "undesira. ble'' and it's growth discouraged. Nov agriculturists in every part of Brazi are increasing their product as rapid ly as possible, and thsi is true of tn, other castor bean producing countries
 In the United States the Depart ment of Agriculture and the War De pertinent are combining to stimulat the production of the castor oil bean The War Department is pushing tn
 movement for a great increase in tn
 production of the castor bean in tn
 Southern States, in the hope tha 200,0 acres may be planted in cas tor beans in the present year, and t
 accomplish this it has contracte- with certain individuals for caste beans at $3.50 a bushel, permitin
 them to guarantee to the growers o sub-contractors $3.00 per bushe f. o. b. at the nearest weighing an forwarding center, and the South now being canvassed with hope of ir ducing farmers to devote the neces sary area to the production of tn
 requirement of our flying machine and those of our Allies, and increaI ing the annual output of our factorit from less than S2,000,000 a year
 $1O,O0o, 900 or perhaps $20, 900, ,OC
 annually. It is hoped that the effor
 now in progress will result in cro aggregating in value about $12,00O
 900 and thsi when transformed int