OILS, RESINS AND RUBBERS 



fN these days of shortage in nearly everything that civilized 



**• man regards as essential, a list of the principal oils, resins 



and gums of the world should be of interest. In the 



Kew Bulletin for 1017, Nos. 7 and 8, such a list is given and 



this, with various additions, is published here. The oils of 



the world divide naturally into the fatty or fixed oils, which 



are heavy and slow to dry, and the essential oils which are 



aromatic and volatile. The fixed oils are mostly derived from 



the seeds or fruits of various species, but the essential oils are 



more often derived from the leaves, stems and flowers. The 



fixed oils have a multitude of uses. They form the basis of 



much of the soap, lubricants and candles manufactured, are 



used extensively in painting, are often a source of food, or 



valued as fuel, or employed in various arts. The chief uses 



of the essential oils are found in perfumery and medicine. 



Fixed oils come largely from species inhabiting the warmer 



parts of the earth; the essential oils are found in species that 



inhabit temperate regions. The gums, resins and rubbers 



are peculiar in being derived principally from a sort of milky 



juice or latex found in certain plants and regarded by many 



botanists as being in the nature of an excretion or waste 



product. 



FATTY OR FIXED OILS. 



Cocos nucifcra. Coconut Oil. Obtained from the 

 seeds. The dried meat containing the oil is known as copra. 

 Oil used in cooking, etc. Tropical. 



Elacis Guineensis. African Palm Oil. Obtained 

 from the seeds. Western Africa. 



