(R ici n us common is, Linn.). Bo ph orlaace(c.
The cultivation of the castor-oil plant is cen tered in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois, in which states, according to the last United States Census, an annual crop of 100,000 to 150,000 bushels of seed is produced. The price is at present about one dollar per bushel. The impor tation of seeds for the year ended June 30, 1905, was 387,767.36 bushels. This plant is cultivated chiefly in Egypt, Turkey in Asia, India and China. The oil from this seed is obtained by expression, as above stated, after which it is clarified by boiling with water to free it from mucilaginous and other objectionable substances or by leaving it standing in the sunlight to settle. The cake remaining after the removal of the oil is powerfully poisonous, as are also the whole seeds.
Castor-oil is used in a number of ways. When cold pressed, it is used in medicine for its purgative properties; it is mixed with other substances to increase its mobility and used in making sticky fly paper, according to report ; it is valued in some circumstances as a lubricating oil because of its heaviness ; it is excellent as a dressing for leather and is used somewhat in making transparent as well as common soaps. This oil, like that from cottonseed and peanuts, is semi-drying in character. [See Castor-bean.] Colza (Brassie(' campestris, Linn.). Rosaeem. [See, also, page 307, and Rape.] Colza oil, strictly speaking, is obtained from the seed of Brassica campestris, the rutabaga, but the oil from this plant is probably not distinguished in commerce from that of B. Napus and B. Rapa, the different sorts of rape.
Colza is cultivated especially in France, Germany and Belgium, in part for the seed and the oil expressed from it. The seeds yield about 35 per cent of their dry weight of brownish yellow oil, which, although odorless when expressed, develops an unpleasant odor and taste on standing. The crude oil is used as a lubricant and in some regions for illuminating purposes, the refined oil being used, it is said, as an adulterant for olive and almond oils. The cake is a recognized stock
food. The importation of products listed as rape during the fiscal year ended July 1, 1905, was as follows: Rape seed, 3,029,948 pounds, valued at $78,344; rape-seed oil, 730,686 gallons, valued at $264,025. Neither rape nor colza is grown in the United States to any considerable extent as a source of oil, being used rather as green forage crops. The seeds of rape and colza, it is said, are used in bird-seed mixtures. [See page 307.] Corn oil (Zea Mays, Linn.). Graminece.
Corn oil is obtained from the germ of the seed of corn. This part of the seed is practically free from starch, so that in the manufacture of glucose, in which the starchy structure only is of value, the germs are discarded. From this formerly refuse product, a useful oil is obtained in large quantities. The center of the corn oil industry is found in the upper Mississippi valley, where the glucose and starch industries are centered. This is practically an American product and is exported in considerable quantities to Europe, especially to Belgium. In 1905, out of a total exportation of 71,372 barrels, valued at $873,579, Belgium re ceived 51,468 barrels. The "cake" remaining after the removal of the oil is also an article of export.
The oil belongs to the semi-drying oils and is used for the making of soap and as a lubricant. [See Maize.] Cottonseed. (Gossypiurn species.) Ilialvace(e.
The cottonseed crop, of course, is confined to the southern states. The states bordering on the Gulf as well as the Carolinas and Arkansas are important cotton producers. The crushing and storage of the seed is practiced not only in cities within the cotton-belt but also in centers most readily accessible, such as Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis, as well as in the larger commercial centers. The domestic crop of cottonseed may be' stated as averaging 5,000,000 tons, of which about 60 per cent is crushed for oil. The average recent oil yield has been about 110,000,000 to 115,000,000 gallons per year.