Newspaper Page Text
Entereu according- to Act of Congress, m June, 1869, by J. W. Burke & Cos., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the So. District of Georgia
Vol. Ill —No. 39
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
CASTOR OIL, AND WHERE IT COMES
PROM.
_
w' n
ALTER was sick, and the
doctor said he must take
some castor oil. Now, all
of you children who have had castor
oil given to you when you were sick,
know that it is a most nauseous dose ;
indeed, I do not know of a more dis
agreeable medicine to take, and
Walter is very much of my opinion ;
but he is a good little boy, and does
what his mamma tells him—so he
took the dose of oil the doctor left
for him the best way he could, but
he made such a wry face that I am
afraid some of you children would
have laughed if you had been there.
Walter laid very still a good long
time, for the dose of medicine made
him quite sick,'and he did not feci at
all like moving about or talking
But, in the afternoon, when he felt
better, and there was no one in the
room but his mamma, who sat sew
ing near by, he began to think of the
nauseous dose of medicine lie had
taken, and said :
“Mamma, where does castor oil
Come from ?”
“ Well, my son, that is a question
which will admit of several answers.
What you took this morning came
from the drug store.”
“But where did the druggist get
it from, mamma?”
“ I suppose from another druggist
or wholesale dealer, and he from the
manufacturer, or person that made
it. But, as this leaves you no wiser
than before, I will amuse you a little
while, this afternoon, by telling you
something about the history of the plant
from which it is obtained, and how it is
prepared.'
“ Castor oil is a mild purgative which
is obtained from the nuts of the castor
oil plant, the botanical name of which
is Ricinns Communis, and the more
common na voq palma Christi. It came
originally from Asia, and its medical
MACON, GEORGIA, MARCH 26, 1870.
qualities were known to the ancients.
It has become naturalized, however, in
Africa, America, and the South of Eu
rope. It grows throughout the South
ern States, and I have seen it growing
luxuriantly on poor red land in this
State.
“ Here is a picture of the palma
Christi in its native India. You see
that it is quite a tall tree. In some
parts of Europe it never grows to a
greater height than three or four feet,
but in Spain it attains greater size. In
the Southern States of this country it
sometimes grows as high as eight or ten
feet.”
“Why, mamma,” said Walter, “when
I was at Aunt Ella’s, last year, I saw
the palma Christi growing in her gar
den. It looked a good deal like this in
the picture, but was not near so tall, for
this seems to be ever so much higher
than the elephant, little house and all.
But, mamma, please tell me how they
Whole No. 143.
I manage to get the oil from the pal
|ma Christi .”
| ‘ £ The seeds are first freed from the
|pod, and then bruised. After which
Itliey are put into a cold press and
the oil expressed from them. The
|oil is then allowed to stand for a
I certain time, to free it from certain
impurities; or else it is filtered, or
allowed to run through a sort of
cloth, which frees it from these for
eign substances. This is the whole
process, and it is a very simple one.”
“ Why, mamma, if this is all, and
the palma Christi grows in the
South, I do not see why a great deal
of oil is not made here.”
“Nor I, my son. When I was a
little girl, old Dr. Harden, of Wat
kinsville, in this State, began to
imake it, and continued it for some
years, but finally gave it up, but I
|never knew why. The manufacture
-of castor oil is carried on now very
lextensively at St. Louis, in Missouri,
and it may be at other places, but as
large quantities are brought into the
United States from foreign countries
every year, I should think it might
be made profitable in this country.”
“Is it only used as a medicine,
j mamma V !
“ No, my son, it is used for a good
many other purposes. In the East,
in France, Italy, and other countries,
j the people burn it in their lamps ;
land in England and this country it
is the basis of many of the prepara
tions for the hair. The celebrated
Rowland’s Macassar Oil, which was
iSo much used in England years ago,
ds nothing but castor oil, refined and
perfumed.
“ And now my little boy knows near
ly as much about castor oil as his mo
ther, and as he must be tired and sleepy
by this time, mamma must stop talking
to him.”
Walter thanked his mother, and I
think my little readers will be quite as
much interested in wdiat she said as
Walter was.
Uncle Ollapod.
Macon , Georgia.