Alice Faye Cook, aged 10, of Springfield, Tenn. for her question:

What is castor oil made from'

Castor oil comes from the castor bean. And the castor bean is grown by the castor.‑oil plant. It is by nature a tropical plant of Asia and Africa. But it is so handsome that it has been adopted to grow in northern gardens. However, in cooler regions it never reaches the size it does in the tropics.

The oil is extracted or squeezed from the ripe beans. Maybe you don't think much of it. But it does have other uses beside being a medicine. Castor oil is a rich and smooth lubricant. As such it does many gobs in industry.

A good deal of the world's castor oil is used in the making of perfumes and dyes. Some is used in the preparing of soft leathers. Some is used in making artificial leathers,, Castor oil also plays a part in the manufacture of soaps, varnishes, rubber, linoleum and even fly paper. You may not like it ‑ but flies have an even better reason to dislike it.