THE CARRAPATO OR CASTOR TREE.
This plant may be, as well as the coco, reared in sandy soils, but it will flourish with more luxuriance, upon those that are of a richer kind. The oil, which is extracted from the seed, is in general use for lamps and other purposes, but neither is it eaten, nor known as a medicine; but it is administered as an outward application. It is given to animals that have drank the juice of the mandioc, and is sometimes successful in forcing the poison back from the stomach. The plant is much cultivated, but it is frequently to be seen growing spontaneously.[183]