13 



nation being probably that all the Eucalypts in South Africa have 

 been raised from seed, and are thus growing in South Africa free from 

 their Australian pests, both fungoid and insect. With the view of 

 preserving this happy immunity from di-^ease, the importation of 

 Eucalypt plants into Cape Colony is placed under stringent restrictions. 



MORINGA. 



Paper on the Oil of " Ben," from the Moringa ptery- 



gosperma.* 



Read by H. J. Kemble, Esq., to the Branch Society of Arts, Jamaica, 



Slst December, 1854. 



The Oil now exhibited was prepared from the seeds of the Moringa 

 pterygosperma, some of which accompany this specimen. 



My attention was first called to the value of this production by 

 perusal of a copy of a petition to be found in the Votes of the Hon. 

 House of Assembly, vol. 13, page 145, which was inserted in one of 

 the public papers, (No. 1, below.) More particular and scientific des- 

 criptions of the tree, and of the virtues and value of the Oil, may be 

 found in the Pharmaceutical Journal, vol. 5, page 58, (No. 2) ; and in 

 "United States Dispensary," Wood an 1 Bache,) page 1359, (No 3.) 



I was also favoured by Dr. Bowerbank with a copy of a letter on the 

 subject, written m April, 1851, to a member of the Legislature, by the 

 late Mr. Robert Smith. 



Having satisfied myself that the only effectual machine for the ex- 

 pression of vegetable oils, was the Hydraulic Press, and that there was 

 such a machine at the Railway Station in Kingston, I applied to Mr. 

 David Smith, and by him was very kindly offered the use of the press, 

 and every facility for the experiment I then procured some horse- 

 hair bags, ad caused to be manufactur d, a large tin tray or dish, 

 with sides sloping to a small well in the centre. Having next pro- 

 cured several lbs. of the seeds, shelled, and divested of the inner 

 winged husk, I place i 21 bs. of such seeds in one of the horse hair bags 

 and suspended it over the tin tray or dish, between two plates of iron, 

 operated upon by a screio press as the hydraulic press proved to be cut 

 of order, and consequently useless. This (screw) pre s was worked 

 with long levers, by six powerful men. The pressure was necessarily 

 imperfect, and its inadequacy was increased by the press being hori- 

 zontiil instead of vertical. This occasioned the necessity of suspending 

 the bags, by which the seed^ were precipitated in a mass to the bottom 

 and the pressure applied to that mass, instead of acting on each indi- 

 vidual seed. The product, nevertheless, was an ounce and a half 

 of oil to a pound of seeds, and I entertain no doubt that with adequate 

 pressure Dr Nicholas Yan Echout's statements of the yield (2 oz. to 

 the lb.) would be fully supported. 



I subsequently subjected 61bs. weight of seeds to the sa'ue pressure, 

 with the same result, and, in proof of the imperfect nature of the 

 pressure employed, may state that a considerable quantity of the oil 



* Transactions of the Jamaica Society of Arts Dec. 1864, to Dec. 1855, inclu- 

 sive. Vol. I. Kingston, Jamaica. 



