110 ! THE FIXED VEGETABLE OILS 
capital, there is no branch of trade which would inerease more rapidly, 
or yield larger returns, than the manufacture of Oils in Southern 
India. 
* Tt will be seen that Dr. Hunter's estichate of the prime cost of the 
inferior native article in the Bazaar, averages much more than Rs. 3 per 
Madras maund, or upwards of £30 a ton. If we add to this the price of 
casks— four and a half of which, costing £3. 3s., go to a ton—freight £4, 
an ad valorem duty, the expense of purchase and shipping, and charges 
in England, it will be found impossible to lay down oil, with profit, 
at less than £45 per ton. The present rates in the home market for 
Gingelie and Ground-nut Oils are more than 20 per cent. below that 
figure, with not the slightest chance of improvement. 
** We have not space in our present issue for those statistics which Dr. 
Hunter calls for, and which we are luckily in a position to furnish. He 
will be very glad to hear, that they disclose a far more prosperous state 
of things than his information had led him to calculate upon. 
* Letter from Dr. Alexander Hunter. 
“ The following are some of the Fixed Oils of India, regarding which 
it would be desirable to get information as soon as possible. The 
prices at which the oils can be manufactured in different localities 
ought to be specified; and, if possible, particulars should be furnished. 
regarding the process of preparation, as some oils are procured by ex- 
pression from fresh seeds, others by boiling and separating the husk, or 
by steeping and subsequent exposure to the sun before the seeds are 
put into the mill. The purity of oils, and consequently their therapeu- 
tic, dietetic, and commercial value, depend greatly upon the care and 
cleanliness followed in their preparation. Asa general rule, the fresher 
the seed and the more rapid the process of expression, the purer will be 
the oil. Rancidity and discoloration are often produced by too much 
boiling, or by crushing the seeds in a dirty mill, in so large a quantity 
at a time that the oil cannot be expressed from the mass before putre- 
factive decomposition has commenced. Strong smell or aroma may 
depend upon the age of the seeds, and their partial decay, or upon the 
presence of husks, pods, or impurities. It is advisable that suggestions 
of this kind should be given to the manufacturers of Indian oils, as 
there is considerable difference in the quality of the same oils pict 
different districts. 
