Gold of Pleasure

Gold of Pleasure (Camelina), a small genus of Crucifere. The common Gold of Pleasure (C. sativa; Fr. Cameline, Ger. Dotter) is an annual plant of humble appearance, but with abundant yellow flowers. It is most commonly known as a weed in lint-fields, although it is also cultivated alone or mixed with rapeseed in parts of Germany, Belgium, and the south of Europe for the sake of the abundant oil contained in its seeds. Its seeds and oil-cake are, however, inferior to those of lint, and its oil is apt to become rancid and is less valued than that of rape or colza. The value of the plant in agriculture depends much on its adaptation to poor sandy soils, and on the briefness of its period of vegetation, adapting it for being sown after another crop has failed, or for being ploughed down as a green manure. The crop is cut or pulled when the pouches begin to turn yellow; but the readiness with which seed is scattered in the field, rendering the plant a weed for future years, is an objection to its cultivation. The stems are tough, fibrous, and durable, and are used for thatching and for making brooms; their fibre is sometimes even separated like that of flax, and made into very coarse cloth and packing-paper. The seeds are used for emollient poultices. C. dentata is of similar habit and properties, but is not cultivated.