Fish oil is prepared in Malabar and the western coast of the Peninsula of India, whence it is ex ported to England in large quantities ; the demand is also yearly increasing. Fish-liver oil is pre pared on the western coast and at Madras. The liver of the white shark is that generally used. The best fish-liver oil is prepared early in January, when the livers are plump, firm, large, white, and full of oil. The livers are sometimes found diseased, and those specifically lighter than water should be rejected. Good livers should cut smooth, and not tear ; when cut, none of the sub stance should flow out in a half-liquid state. The quantity of oil produced by livers depends much upon the time of the year. In the beginning of January 1000 livers were found by experiment to yield 37 imperial gallons, and at the end of Feb ruary an equal number only gave 23 gallons of oil. In the beginning of January 1000 livers of average size weighed 900 lbs., whilst in the last day of March the same number weighed only 575 lbs. The oil at these different seasons was equally pale, and the livers equally white, although much smaller and more flabby in the latter season. To prepare the oil, wash the liver very carefully, first removing the gall-bladders which adhere to them, and infuse them in rain or other water free from salt. Place them over the fire, and never allow the heat to exceed 120° or 130°. On this head especial care must be taken ; a higher degree of heat, although yielding a larger product, com municates a rank, fishy taste and smell, and heightens the colour of the oil, thereby rendering it disgusting to the patient.
The better known vegetable oils of Southern and Eastern Asia arc from the following plants :— A. Chinese Oils.
Almonds oil, Hang-jin-yu, manufactured in Persia, N. India, and China.
Anise (star) oil, Pah-koh-yu, is of a pale colour, with a warm or sweetish taste. It is made by distilling the fruit in small retorts, a pikul producing about seven cattier of oil.
Apricot seed oil, Hang-jin-yu, prepared in the north of China from apricot kernels.
Bean oil, Tau-yu, in the south of China, is prepared in large quantities from the Soja hispida, and is used in food.
Benzoin oil, Ngan-sih-yu, is supposed to be the liquid store' or rose maloes (rasa-mala).
Cabbage or colza oil, Ts'ai-yu, is expressed from the seeds of the Brassica Sinensis, all through the valleys of the Yang-tsze and the Han. It is used in cookery, as a hair oil, a lamp oil, and as a purgative.
Camellia, from the Camellia oleifera, Ch'a.yu, is a thin yellow-coloured oil, used in lamks. It is made in the hilly district of Hunan and Kiang-si, where the camellia grows in abundance. The Chinese call the camellia by the same name as tho tea plant, hence this oil is often called tea oil.
Camphor oil, Nau-yu, is obtained from Formosa, whoro it exudes from vats in which camphor is stored ; it is oily or uncrystallizable camphor ; is a strong smelling liquid of a yellow colour ; it is scarcely saleable.
Camphor oil, from the Dryobalanops camphora of the W. coast of Sumatra, where the oil drops from the split timber of the trees felled to procure the Barus camphor, and is there sold at the rate of a large quart bottleful for a Dutch guilder ; it is a useful embrocation.
Chaulmoogra, CHIN., is obtained from the seeds of the Gynooardia odorata.
Cinnamon oil, Kwei-pi-yu, is a volatile oil, used as a perfume and flavouring ingredient, and exported from Canton ; it is made from the leaves and twigs of the Cassia or Cinnamomum iners, and resembles the genuine oil of cinnamon prepared in Ceylon.
Clove oil, Teng-hiang-yu, made at Canton, is a heavy oil of a pale reddish-brown oil colour.
Cotton seed oil, Mien-yu, expressed from cotton seeds, is used for lamps, in cookery, and externally as an unguent.
Croton oil, Pa-tau-yu, is a drastic purgative.
Fish oil, Yu-chi, is obtained from the porpoise, which ascends the Yang - tze river as far as Hankow ; the oil is used for lamps and to make putty.
Fish oil, Hwang-ku-yu, is obtained from a small fish, the oil has a strong fishy smell, is used to destroy pedicular, parasitic, and other skin affections, and in veterinary practice.
Ground nut or pea nut oil, Hwa-sang-yu, is from the Arachis hypogNa.
Hemp seed oil, Ho-ma-jin-yu, CHIN.
Linseed oil, Hu-ma-yu, from a species of Linuna ; is used medicinally, internally and externally.
Myrrh oil, Muh-yoh-yu, is a reddish oil, having the smell of myrrh, and used in Cochin-China to dress ulcers. Olive oil, Yang-kau-yu. The fruit of the canarium is sometimes mistaken for the olive.
Pine oil, Sung-i, a coarse turpentine obtained by heating pine woods ; it is used in skin diseases.
Peppermint oil, Poh-ho-yu, is made in Canton from several kinds of mint ; used in sweetmeats and as a perfume.
Persimmon oil, Po-tsze-yu, a glutinous oil from the Embryopteris glutinifera. The fruits are of the size of an apple, and are crushed to obtain the dark resinous thick juice. It makes an excellent varnish for the paper umbrellas. An extract from the fruit is an internal and external astringent.
Poppy seed oil,Ying-tsze-yu,is used for culinary purposes.
Roses, oil of, Moi-kwei-yu, an essential oil, used by dinese women as a scent for the hair.
Sandal-wood oil, Tan-hiang-yu, a thick yellow fragrant oil extracted from sandal-wood, used to colour woods in imitation of sandal-wood.
Sesamum oil, Chi-ma-yu, also Hiang-yu, from the black and white sesamum seed.
Stone chesnut oil, Shih-li-yu, obtained by expression from the fruit of the Aleurites triloba; it is superior to linseed-oil as an economic substance, and is used medicinally, with properties like castor-oil.