or (Fa., Hulls de Carapa ; Carapafett).—The nuts of Carapa guianensis [Xylocarpus Carapa, Persoonia guareoides] afford a fatty oil. The tree grows numerously in the forests of Guiana, where it is called carapa and andiroba; it is found more or less commonly throughout tropical America and the W. Indies. It is remarkably abundant in Brazil, and any quantity of the oil can be obtained at Path and Manaos. The nuts are so plentiful iu the district of Cachipour, in French Guiana, as to cover the ground for more than a foot in depth over an area of several miles. There is a dual harvest—in June–July, and again in October. Tile oil is extracted from them in the following manner :—The seeds are boiled without being shelled, and exposed to the air for 8-10 days, to allow the oil to develop itself; they are then removed from the shells, and ground into a paste, which is placed in vessels exposed to the sun, taking care to set them on an incline, so that the exuding oil may run off. This first-run oil, ordinarily quite fluid, is put aside for domestic applications. The residue, on being pressed, yields another product, having the consistence of grease; this is less esteemed, and is used only for lighting and similar purposes. The excessive bitterness of the oil repels all insects, and it is therefore used for anointing, and for preserving wood. For the former application, it is extracted by peeling the seeds and exposing them to the sun on long strips of bark, inclined so that the oil may escape into receptacles ; this is then mixed with annatto, and takes the name of touloumaca. For application to timber, the oil is mixed with pigments or tar. The yield of oil from the seeds amounts to 70 per cent. of their weight. The oil acquires a solid consistence in Europe. It contains a large proportion of stearine, associated with oleine and margarine. It makes an excellent soap, and is said to be a valuable lubricant, pro tecting iron and steel from rust in a remarkable degree. It received a prize medal at the Exhibi tion of 1851. Similar products are Mote-grease, and an oil obtained from Carapa moluccensis (see pp, 1395-6).
Croton-oil (FR., Huile de Croton, de Grains de Tilly, de Grains des Moluques, de petits Pignons d'Inde).—The valuable medicinal agent known as croton-oil is obtained from the seeds of Croton Tiglium [Tiglium officinale], and what are probably equally useful oils are afforded by several other species, noticed below. C. Tiglium is a small tree (15-20 ft. high), indigenous to the Malabar Coast and Tavoy, and found cultivated in gardens in Bengal, S. India, Ceylon, Burma, the Indian Archipelago, the Moluccas, and even in Mauritius. The fruits contain 3 seeds, measuring in. long ands in. broad, whose kernels afford 50-60 per cont. of fatty oil. This is extracted by grinding the kernels, and press ing the meal in bags between iron plates ; the oil is allowed to stand for 15 days before being fil tered. The solid residue from the expression is saturated with twice its weight of alcohol, and heated on a sand-bath at 49°-60° (120°-140° F.) ; the mixture is pressed again, the alcohol is distilled off, and the oil is filtered after standing for a fortnight. The product obtained by this process from 2 lb. of seed is 6 6. oz. of oil by the first expression, and 5 fl. oz. by the second. Occasionally the seeds are roasted before being pressed. The oil is orange-yellow or sherry-coloured, of the consistence of nut oil, with a slight odour resembling that of jalap-resin, and an acrid flavour. It is powerfully cathartic. Its sp. gr. is 0.942. It becomes turbid at a moderate degree of cold, and, exposed to the air, slowly changes to a thick viscous mass. It dissolves in 23 parts of alcohol of sp. gr. 0.848, but its solubility in this medium seems to vary according to the age of the oil and the freshness of the seeds yielding it, and increases as it becomes more oxidized. The oil con
sists largely of stearic, palmitic, and other fatty acids combined with glyceryl as fats, but con tains other bodies which are the origin of the peculiar properties that render the oil serviceable in medicine (see Drugs, p. 809). The oil prepared in India is largely adulterated with castor-oil and the oil of the physic-nut. The seed is therefore imported, in cases, bales, or robbins, chiefly from Cochin and Bombay, and the oil is expressed in this country by one firm only, it is believed. Precautions are necessary in handling the seed and extracting the oil, on account of the powerful ill effects manifested upon the workmen. Medicinal oils having prechely similar applications among native practitioners, but which have not yet been scientifically investigated, are yielded by the seeds of C. oblongifolium in Bengal, C. Pavanum in Assam and Burma, especially Camrup and Ava, and C. polyandrum [Baliospermum montanum, polyandrum, indicurn ; Jatropha montana] in S.-W. India, Bengal, Nepal, Sikkim, and Burma.
Dika-fat.—The seeds of Irvingia Barteri, the (Ma of W. Africa, afford 60 per cent. of a solid fat resembling cacao-butter, fusing at 30°-33° F.), containing myristine and laurine, and capable of making very fine soaps. Much of the dika-fat imported into this country is almost as hard as stearine, with a reddish colour from suspended impurities, and a fatty acid melting at above 49° (120° F.); its soap is very hard.
or oil of many names is the produce of Calophyllum inophyllum [bintagor], a large and very handsome forest-tree, of wide distri bution in the E. tropics. It is found in the western peninsula of India, from Cancan and Orissa southwards ; in Ceylon ; in the eastern peninsula, from Pegu southwards ; in the Andaman Islands; in Java and the Malay Archipelago ; and in most of the island groups of the S. Pacific, as the Fiji, Society, Marquesas, Cook's, and New Caledonia Islands. The tree prefers a moist sandy soil, thrives best within the range of sea-breezes, and is even not averse to land impregnated with salt water. Commencing almost on the sea-beaches, it follows the streams up the valleys, spreading where the ground is suitable ; but inland it is of rare occurrence, and probably will not grow beyond a certain distance from the sea. It propagates itself with great readiness, the seeds germinating where they fall in the shade of the parent tree; they may be transplanted when 9-10 in. high without risk, needing an occasional watering, and protection from cattle, till 5-6 ft. high. Commonly the seeds are sown in the place which the trees are intended to occupy, without any transplanting. The trees are fruitful at the 5th year, and yield 2-3 harvests of oil-seeds annually, according to the locality. In Bengal, Orissa, Madras, Travancore, and S. India generally, there are usually 2 crops yearly, in August-September and February-March, though the tree is in flower and fruit during the greater part of the year. When three gatherings are made, they take place in June-July, November December, and February-March. In Tanjore, 437 acres are occupied by this culture, the produce being an average of 241 cullums of seed per acre, yielding 2670 maunds of oil. A nursery of young plants has been started in British Burma, and promises to be a complete success as an indus trial enterprise. In the Audamans, the tree attains an enormous size. In Java, it is largely culti vated for its shade and fragrant flowers, and is called njamplong and bientangoor. Formerly, it was exceedingly abundant in Tahiti, and is still to he found there in great numbers in some districts, though the natives have cut down very many for the sake of the timber, which is highly esteemed for some purposes (see Timber—Calophyllum).