306 THE OWALA SEED AND OIL. 
is not coagulated by ether, although it is by alcohol and heat; tannin; 
precipitated by salts of iron, or carbonate of potash; an azotic matter, 
combined with an organic acid; a saccharme matter, which is the prin- 
cipal agent in producing the red colour of the oil, by the addition of 
sulphuric acid. > To dye stuffs, it is only necessary to boil them in an 
infusion of the kernels of the seed of Owala, or of the cake. They are 
then exposed to the air, and the result is a rich brown colour, and this 
colour can be varied by the different mordants, or of étain ; if put into 
an iron bath, they become very black. HH 
The seed of Owala may be considered one of those substances which 
are richest in oil principle. Oil obtained from it can be employed for 
domestie purposes, in mechanieal industry, and in soap-making. The 
residuum, or tourteau, which remains after the extraction of the oil, is 
a powerful dye, especially to produce black, and the remains of this 
tourteau used for that purpose will serve for ‘“engrais.” Lastly, we 
have seen that there exists in the kernel a curious principle, at least im 
a scientific point of view,— viz. that of taking a crimson hue when acte 
upon by a saecharine matter and concentrated sulphuric acid. 
- To this, Mr. J. R. Jackson adds the following :—At the time the 
above article was written, little was known of the habits of the plant, 
and consequently the native name was all the clue that could be had, 
with the exception that from the form of the pods, seeds, etc., it was 
clearly seen to belong to the Leguminous order. Since then, however 
Mr. Gustav Mann, who has spent three years in West Tropical Africa, 
has identified it with the Pentaclethra macrophylla, Benth., belonging 
to Mimosee. It is a large and handsome forest-tree, with bipinnate 
leaves, 2-3 feet in length, made up of many trapeziform leaflets, each 
about an inch long, and the small flowers arranged in a & spicate 
manner on the branches of a terminal panicle. The pods in the Mu 
seum of the Royal Gardens, Kew, which are those sent home by the 
alluded to, 
1 foot long, but quite 2 feet; and this, I understand, is about, P - 
ordinary length, the widest part 3 inches, and the thickness. of the en- 
tire pod about 1 inch. The seeds lie in an oblique direction... One 
the most. peculiar things connected with the pod is the extraordinary 
strength of the fibrous tissue of which it is composed. The valves 47° 
each a quarter of an inch thick, made up entirely of this strong fibrous 
substance, the fibres running longitudinally. When ripe, the two valve? 
ECTS a eh ere E eee 
