Argemone mexicana, a native of Mexico, has become distributed all over the globe, and is found abundantly in waste places and in rubbish heaps, notably in the E. Indies and America. In Bengal, and more or less throughout India, the seeds are collected and expressed for their oil, which is yielded almost as plentifully as from mustard-seed. The drawn oil is twice allowed to stand for a few days to deposit a whitish matter, after which it remains clear and bright. It has a light-yellow colour, slightly nauseous odour, and raw flavour ; it remains liquid at 5' (41° F.), dissolves in 5-6 volumes of alcohol at sp. gr., and saponifies readily. It burns well, and has been recommended as a lubricator, besides being credited with medicinal virtues.
Glauciom luteum is a common plant on the sandy shores of the Mediterranean, the W. coast of Europe as far as Scandinavia, and some parts of N. America. It is very hardy, and cultivated with little trouble. It prefers stony and chalky soils, where few other plants will thrive, and has therefore been recommended for culture on such otherwise waste land. Under cultivation, it affords about 10 bush. of seed per acre. The seed contains 42 per cent. of oil, and yields about 32 per cent, by pressure. The oil obtained by cold expression is devoid of odour and flavour, and has a sp. gr. of 0.913. It is applicable to culinary and illuminating purposes, as well as for soap-making and paint. The cake is a good phosphatic manure. It seems to have been very little utilized, probably on account of the comparatively small yield of seed.
The common red poppy (Palmer Bho3as) has been described under Dyestuffs (p. 864); in France, it is cultivated in Artois and Picardy, and the seeds are pressed on the spot for their oil, which is known as "white oil." Pulza-, Seed-, or Purqueira-oil (Fn., HusTe de Medicinier, de Pignon d'Inde).—The seeds of Curcas purgans (see Nuts—Physic-nut, p. 1359) yield s, large quantity of oil, some 350,000 bush. of the seed being sent annually from the Cape Verdes to Portugal for expression. This opera tion is performed in the dry, on seeds slightly roasted and crushed ; 1000 lb. of the seeds give 640 lb. of kernels, which yield 260 lb. of oil. The industry is carried on most extensively at Lisbon.
Safflower- or Curdee-oil.—The seeds of the safflower (see Dyestuffs, p. 865) afford about 20 per cent. of fatty oil. The plant is cultivated chiefly for the sake of its dye, but the abstrac tion of the petals for this purpose (see pp. 865-6) does not affect the yield of seed. There are two ways of extracting the oil from the seed :—(a) The seeds are freed from husks, crushed, and pressed, the product being about 25 per cent. of oil, of light colour, and good burning qualities. (b) An earthen jar is set in the ground, and covered with an earthen plate having a bole of about in. diameter in the centre ; upon the plate, is inverted a second jar filled with the seed, the joints are carefully luted with clay, and earth is piled up to the shoulder of the inverted jar ; dried cow-dung is then heaped around the upper jar, and kept burning for about hour. On completion of the operation, the upper vessel will be full of charred seed, and the lower full of black sticky oil. The latter, extracted in this way, is valueless for burning, but esteemed by the natives above all others for preserving leathern vessels exposed to water, and the yield is more than by the press. The expressed oil is light-yellow and clear, and used locally for culinary and
other purposes ; it is also said to outer largely into the composition of the so-called " Macassar hair-oil." Its industrial qualities have been neglected in Europe.
or ce, shea, or butter-tree of W. Africa (Butyro spermum, [Bassia] Parkii) forms miles of forest on the S. bank of the Niger, and the same or an allied species, locally termed lulu, is common on the river Djour, in the Bahr el Ghazal province, where its " butter " is used by the natives in cooking. The seeds, as large as pigeons' eggs, are exposed for several days to dry in the sun, and reduced to flour in a mortar ; the flour is placed in a vessel, sprinkled with warm water, and kneaded to the consistence of dough. When the kneading has proceeded so far that greasy particles are detached by the addition of hot water, this last operation is repeated until the fat is completely separated, and rises to the surface. The fat is then collected; and boiled over a strong fire, with constant skimming, to remove any remaining pulp. When sufficiently boiled, it is poured into a damp mould, and, when set, is wrapped in leaves, and will keep thus for two years. The yield is 30-40 per cent. The " butter " is white, with sometimes a reddish tinge, and may be rendered white by repeated filtration in a warm closet ; it resembles tallow in appearance, but is more unctuous, and greases the fingers ; it has a faint characteristic odour, and a sweetish flavour. Its melting-point is variously stated, from 23°-24° (73P-751° F.) to 43° (109i° F.). According to one authority, the fatty acid is margaric, and its melting-point is 61° (142° F.); according to others, there are two fatty acids, stearie and oleic, the melting-point of the mixture being 69° (156° F.). Yet another authority states the proportions as 7 of stearine to 3 of oleine, and states that when acidified and distilled, it gives a yellow, crystalline fatty acid melting at 56° (133° F.), and when pressed, at 66° (151° F.), but that it cannot be used for candle-making, as it is soft, despite its high melting-point. It dissolves entirely in the cold in turpentine-spirit, incompletely in ether, and is almost insoluble in alcohol. It saponifies readily with alkalies. There is also present in it, in the proportion of i-f per cent., a substance resembling guttapercha, and which has been called " guttashea" (see Resinous Substances). It is insoluble in alcohol, alcohol and ether mixed, acids, aid alkalies ; but slightly soluble in pure ether, and in ordinary animal and vegetable fats. It can be removed from the fat by dissolving in a mixture of 3 parts of ether and 1 of alcohol, when it separates in a filmy state, more readily if the fat be first saponified. It exists ready-formed in the oil, some in suspension, removable by filtration, some iu solution in the fat. The fat itself, shea-butter, is imported to the extent of 300-500 tons annually, from Sierra Leone, for use in the manufacture of hard soaps, chiefly in combination with other oils. It is largely consumed in some of the Continental candle-factories. The natives employ it for food, for anointing, and for lighting. Other Bassia-oils are described under Illipi-butter (p. 1392), Mahwa oil (p. 1394), and Phulwara-oil (p. 1408).