OCR Text |
Show Misccdanu Money in the Castor Bean. Two hundred acres of castor beans were planted on the San Benito tract of land this vear, and 2OU.0U0 bushels of the product prod-uct from this and other Rio Grande valley lands have been sold to Ohio interests. in-terests. Local people there are contracting contract-ing for castor beans In unlimited quantities quanti-ties at SI a bushel to the grower. According to statements In a recent issue of the San Benito Light, castor beans will produce about S 5 0 an acre gross the first year and $70 to SSO the second year. The beans require no iirl- i gallon. Thfl trees live six to seven years. ' Thev require no cultivation, as nothing will grow under them. And there is a staple market for the crop at a good cash prie. There Is money in every Oil-producing seed crop at present prices, but there is a fast-growing market for the castor Wean. The dye industry in the Untied Si ales is just in its infancy and castor I oil for that use must continue in great do-man-. Reports show that the United States has imported about IuO.hhh gallons of the oil each yeatunJyr normal conditions con-ditions from India. Trn source of supply hug been cut off at the same time our imports im-ports of dyes from Germany have ct.-astM. The consequence is that the United States Is needing many t.iousanu;; ot gallons gal-lons of castor oil much more in fact than will be supplied. There are few products with as great a variety of uses as the castor bean. And the number is growing rapMly. It can be produced in Texas at about half the cost of corn or cotton. It commands a good price at any season of the year. Altogether there are many attractions which commend it as a crop for the Texas farmer. The castor bean is ready to take its place as one of the money crops of the stato and boll weevils will not touch it. Houston Post. |