is said to be obtained from the fruits of a palm, Elceis melanococca, gathered in immense quantities in the states of Oaxaca, Colima, Guerrero, and other portions of Mexico, though the name coquito is applied in Chili to another palm, Jubcea spectabilis. The yield of oil is stated at 50 per cent. ; it is solid at the ordinary temperature of the central portion of the country ; and is manufactured into soap of very fine quality.
(Fn., Huile de Colon; GER., Baumwollensamen51).—The seeds which are sepa rated from the " lint " or "wool " of the various kinds of cotton in the process of " ginning'' (see Fibrous Substances—Gossypium, p. 948) are valued for their oil. The utilization of this oil is assuming the importance of a distinct industry in the United States, where there are now upwards of 40 9 being situated in Mississippi, 9 in Louisiana, 8 in Tennessee, 6 in Texas, 4 in Arkansas, 2 in Mieeouri, 2 in Alabama, and 1 in Georgia. The quantity of seed treated for its oil now amounts to over 400,000 tons annually, and the increasing production of the oil may be gathered from the following figures, showing (a) the number of gallons exported, and (b) the home consumption :—year 1876-7, a 1,316,000, b 2,000,000; 1877-8, a 1,457,000, b 1,800,000; 1878-9, a 5,750,000, b 2,425,000. The American process of extraction ie as follows. The seed coming from the ginning operation (see p. 957) still has some fibre adhering to it, and has a tendency to accumulate in masses. These are thrown into a machine containing a screw-knife revolving in a trough, which divides the materials into particles fit for the screening operation. This is conducted first in a sieve with meshes that allow the sand and dirt to pass, while retaining the seed ; and then in one through which the seed can escape, but not husks and coarse foreign matters. The cleaned seed is next passed through a special gin for removing all remaining fibre (useful for paper-making and other purposes); and finally through a hulling-machine or decorticator, consisting of fixed and revolving knives set so close as to sever the seeds. The huller made by D. Kahnweiler, 120, Center Street, New York, was favourably noticed at the Centennial Exhibition. Thus treated, the seeds are taken through one or more separators, which pass the kernels but retain the shells. The kernels are pressed into cakes between iron rolls, and are then placed in steam-jacketed iron tanks, 4 ft. wide and 15 in. deep, where, by constant stirring, and the action of dry heat obtained from injecting steam at 35 lb. a sq. in. into the jacket, the oil is liberated from the cells in the course of about 5 minutes. The heated mass is then filled into sacks and subjected to repeated hydraulic pressure, till most of the oil is extracted. This process of extraction is replaced in England by an improved method, described under a separate heading in the present article, see p. 1451. By the American plan, the yield from 1000 lb. of seed averages 490 lb. of husks, 10 lb. of cotton, 365 lb. of cake, and 135 lb. of oil.
In India, cotton-seed is used more as a cattle-food direct, than as an oil-yielder. By the native mills, it affords 25 per cent. of a good oil, which, if purified, might become of considerable com mercial importance. The seed cannot safely be shipped without undergoing preliminary cleansing,
otherwise it heats and deteriorates in bulk on the long voyage. Egypt exports large quantities of the seed to Marseilles and English ports ; the total exports for the season 1879-80 were estimated at 2,200,000 ardebs (260,000 tons), value 1,750,0001., of which, 981 per cent. was for the United Kingdom ; the official figures are 1,282,770/. worth to Great Britain, 66,200/. to France, and 100/. to Turkey. The Turkish port of Adana shipped 3,389,375 lb. of cotton-seed, value 67401., in 1878 and Bagdad exported 134 cwt., value 1891., to Europe and India in the same year. Quantities of cotton-seed oil are produced in Ichang (China). The native imports of this oil at Hankow in 1879 were 13331 piculs, value 2493/. The export of native-grown cotton-seed-oil from Shanghai to Chinese ports in 1879 was 13091 ptculs.
The yield of oil varies with the season and the locality in which the seed is produced. In the United States, it is reckoned that for each 1 lb. of ginned cotton there are 3 lb. of seed, or a total approaching 4000 million lb., half of which only is required for sowing. Oue authority estimates that 100 lb. of seed give 2 gal. of oil, 18 lb. of oil-cake, and 6 lb. refuse fit for soap-making ; another says that 1 ton of American seed gives 20 gal. of oil; a third, that the oil product is 37 per cent. of the weight of the kernels ; a fourth, that 2 gal. of oil and 96 lb. of cake are afforded by 1 cwt. of seed ; a fifth, that 1 ton of cotton material yields at the rate of some 35 gal. of oil. The crude oil is often dark and turbid; when refined, it assumes a dark sherry-colour, has a pleasant, sweetish flavour ; sp. gr., 0125-0.9306; congealing-point, 1° (34° F.); and is largely used in adulterating other oils, as linseed-oil, sperm-oil, and lard-oil, for painting, burning in lamps, and lubricating. It is extensively mixed with olive-oil, and often replaces it altogether ; as a preventive measure, the Italian Government has levied a heavy duty on its importation. Large quantities of it are consumed by soap-makers, in combination with other oils and fats. For lubricating purposes, some manufacturers prepare a " winter oil " from it, which does not thicken in cold weather, by pre cipitating and removing the stearine ; but its gumminess must limit its application. Its value in New York is about 18-20d. a gal. The cake remaining after the expression of the oil is invaluable as a cattle-food and as a fertilizer, and is an important article of commerce. In 1880, Galveston (U.S.) exported 309,8411b., of cottonseed, value 459/. ; and New Orleans, 255 sacks of cotton-seed, and 8137 barrels of the oil, besides 3480 barrels of " soap-stock." Coumu-oil,—Three or more species of Onocarpus which are common on the Amazon, notably the patawa (IF. Batawa), the bacaba (0. Bacaba), and IF. disticha, bear oleaginous nuts, whence the Indians extract clear, fluid, greenish-yellow oils, which, when purified, are inodorous, of sweet flavour, excellent for cooking and lighting purposes, and used in Path for adulterating olive-oil. ' The second-named is said to make good soap.