144 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 



the cone they are placed in the sun for a few days, then 

 stacked in piles and covered with leaves for several days 

 until partially fermented so as to release the fibrous cases. 

 In consequence of this fermentation the glycerin, which in 

 fresh fruit constitutes 1 per cent of the palm, is reduced 

 to .5 per cent, thus producing a serious loss in market value. 

 To obtain the oil the natives boil the pericarp in water and 

 skim off the released oil which rises to the surface. After 

 coagulation it is an orange-red color of the consistency ot 

 butter and with a sweet violet odor when fresh. It is some- 

 times eaten by Europeans residing in Africa. 



Organized efforts are now being made to overcome the 

 wasteful native method of recovering the yellow oil from the 

 seed covering and to supply American and European countries 

 with a higher grade of oil than that of the variable uncertain 

 product formerly shipped by the West African natives. One 

 of the most up-to-date power machines for the preparation 

 of palm oil removes the pulp from the nuts and subsequently 

 presses it. This is known as the Calidonian dry process. 

 The process of depericarping is effected by a machine patented 

 by Mr. II. G. Fairfax, of England, which differs from most 

 existing processes in the absence of steaming or boiling the 

 pulp in water before expressing the oil. It is claimed that 

 by this method neither the fruit nor oil come in contact 

 with water, so that oven if fatty acid and glycerin occur in 

 over-ripe fruit no glycerin is lost. 



Palm Kernel Oil. — This oil is white in color and softer 

 than that which is obtained from the outer covering of the 

 seed. It is obtained either by crushing the seed at the mill 

 or by chemical extraction. Formerly, palm kernel oil was 

 employed in the manufacture of soap, candles, etc., but at 

 the present time it is in great demand by the makers of nut 

 butter, chocolate fats, etc. Before the recent war Germany 

 controlled the kernel export to such an extent that she 

 imported the kernels from Liverpool, England, and then sent 

 the expressed oil back to the same port at a lower price than 

 that manufactured by the English merchants. Now, how- 

 ever, that the British have control of the German West African 

 colonies, one of the largest firms for manufacturing palm 

 kernel oil has installed its own steamers for the purpose of 

 bringing seeds from Africa to Liverpool. During 1917, 58,000 

 tons of kernels were exported from Sierra Leone and 250,000 

 tons from West Africa. 



