OILS 



ami the attack* of insect*, and checking excessive 

 perspiration. This practice conduces to health aiul 

 preserves the skin smooth nml soft. Oil thrown 

 on the Ma has a remarkable effect in subduing 

 the force of the waves. A few gallons oast U|MMI 

 stormy seas moderates and prevent* the waves 

 breaking with force. This practice might lie 

 adopted bv lifeboats when approaching vmeu, ami 

 rescuing the crews of stranded vessels. The coin- 

 position of the fine oils required for watches and 

 .-wing-machines is often carefully kept secret. 

 Those principally used are ben, almond, olive, and 

 neat's-foot. The oils suitable for machine-shops 

 ami general cotton and woollen machinery require 

 a good bodv, rather viscid. For woollen spindles 

 a lighter oil, ami fur cotton spindles, which have 

 a speed of 4000 revolutions per minute, an oil of 

 still lighter Uxly. For lubricating purposes mineral 

 oils may with advantage In- mixed with animal 

 and vegetable oils to diminish their tendency to 

 thicken ; the more Quid an oil is the less friction 

 takes place. 



( 1 ) Vegetable Fats. The chief solid fate of vege- 

 table origin are cocoa-nut oil, nutmeg-butter, cocoa- 

 butter. and palm-oil. The fluid vegetable fats or 

 oils are divisible into the noii-tlryiny and the dry- 

 ing oils; the latter lieing distinguished from the 

 former by their Incoming dry and solid when ex- 

 posed in thin layers to the air, in consequence of 

 oxvgenation. Some of the drying oils, when mixed 

 with cotton, wool, or tow, absorb oxygen so rapidly, 

 and consequently Income so heated, as to take fire, 

 nml many cases of the spontaneous combustion of 

 heaps of oily materials that have been employed in 

 cleaning machinery have been recorded. The chief 

 non-drying oils are olive-oil, almond-oil, and colza- 

 oil ; while the most important drying oils are those 

 of linseed, hemp, )>oppv, and walnut ; castor-oil 

 seems to form a link between these two classes 

 of oils, since it gradually becomes hard by long 

 exposure to the air. 



(2) Animal Fat*. The chief solid fats are beef 

 and mutton suet or tallow, lard, butter, goose- 

 grease, &c. ; while among the fluids sperm-oil, 

 ordinary whale-nil, cod-liver oil, and neat's-foot 

 oil may be especially mentioned. In many of their 

 characters spermaceti and beeswax resemble the 

 solid fats. As a general rule, stearin and palmitin, 

 lioth of which nave comparatively high fusing- 

 pointe (Iwtween 157 and 114" F. ), preponderate in 

 tin' solid fats; while oleih, which is fluid at 32, 

 is the chief constituent of the oils. 



When anv of these IxidieM are heated with the 

 hydrated alkalies they undergo a change which 

 ha* long liecn known as Sa|milication, or con- 

 \'-r-ion into Soap (q.v.), in which the fattv acid 

 combines with the alkali to form a soap, while the 

 sweet viscid liquid glycerine is simultaneously 

 formed. When the fatty acids are required on a 

 large scale, as for the manufacture of the so-called 

 in candles, which in reality consist mainly of 

 'ic and palmitic acids, sulphuric acid and the 

 oil or fat are made to act upon each other at a high 

 temperature (see_ C'ANULE). The fatty acids may 

 also In- procured in a \.-ry pure form by the injec- 

 tion of Mi|H'rheatcd steam at a temperature of lie- 

 tween 500 and 600 into heated fat. A complete 

 list of even the chief fate and fixed oils would take 

 up far more space than we can command. The 

 more imimrtant re noticed in separate articles, 

 such as Fixed Oil of Almonds, Castor-oil, Croton- 

 oil, &c. , and some account given of their properties 

 and uses; or under the names of the substances 

 from which I hey are procured Linseed, Hape, 

 Candle-nut, Cocoa-nut, Cotton (for Cotton-seed 

 Oil), &c. Reference may also be made to the 

 articles on Mutter, (Jhoe, Lard, Cod-liver Oil, \e. 



The Volatile or Essential Oil* exist, in most 



instance^, ready formed in plants, and are believed 

 to constitute their odorous principles. They form 

 an extremely numerous class, of which most of the 

 members are fluid. Many used for flavouring are 

 artificially compounded (see ItfTYltic ACID). 

 Essential oils are much employed in perfumes, 

 for flavouring liqueurs and confectionery, and for 

 various purpose* in the arts. They will l>e 

 descrilHil at I'KKFI'MKKY. The mineral oils vill 

 lie found discussed under the heads of Naphtha, 

 Paraffin, Petroleum. 



OILS IN THKIIl COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 



Vegetable Oils. The principal seeds imported for 

 expressing oil are cotton, linseed, rape, and 

 ground-nut; but many others are received in small 

 quantities. Coltim-sceil is now a verv imiiortant 

 product, which was formerly much neglected. The 

 import* into Britain rose from about 20,000 tons 

 in 1861 to over 314,000 tons in 1890, nearly all 

 coming from Egypt : 100 Hi. of seed yield about 2 

 gal/ of oil. The seed fetches 5 to 6 a ton ; the 

 oil 18 to 21 a tun. Linseed. British imports of 

 this flax-seed now reach over 2,000,000 or., of the 

 value of 4,000,000. Nearly all the supply used to 

 )>e obtained from Russia, which produces the best 

 seed, but now the chief imports are from India ; 

 these arrive, however, very much mixed with rape 

 and other seeds. India ships about 8} million cwt. 

 of linseed yearly, of which three-fourths is sent to 

 Kngland. One quarter of linseed will yield by pres- 

 sure 120 Ib. of oil and 2J cwt. of oil-cake. The aver- 

 age annual production of linseed-oil in the United 

 Kingdom may be taken to 1* about 120,000 tuns. 

 India is the chief source of supply for the small 

 oil-seeds, the value of those exported annually 

 ranging from 9,500,000 to 10,750,000, besides 

 aliout 500,000 more for the oils of various kinds 

 shipped. Africa alone supplies palm-oil and 

 large quantities of ground-nute ; Ceylon, India, 

 and the Pacific islands the cocoa-nut oil of 

 commerce. Cocoa-nut Oil is expressed from the 

 albumen or iipc kernel of the nut, known in 

 commerce when dried as copra. The production 

 of this oil does not make the same progress 

 that palm-oil does, as the following decennial im- 

 ports into the I'nited Kingdom will show : 1870, 

 198,602 cwt. ; 1880, 318,454 cwt. ; 1890, 184,409 

 cwt. The price of the oil declined about i'10 in 

 1883-90, the price being in the latter year 27 

 per ton. Palm-oil. The average imports of this 

 oil are 50,000 tons annually. Prices have advanced 

 of late years, and in 1890 stood at 26 per ton. 

 This oil forms a chief ingredient in the grease 

 used for railway axles. Ibipe-seed. The imports 

 of rape range between 459,000 to 2,300,000 

 qr., of which about half come from Russia and 

 half from India. The total exports of this seed 

 from India now exceed 3 million cwt., valued at 

 nearly 2,000,000 sterling ; the great bulk of this 

 is sent to France and Hclgium. From the first 

 pressure rape-seed will yield about 90 Ib. of oil per 

 quarter, and from a second pressure 60 to 70 Ib. 

 The (irounit-niit (Ararhia fit/jioflaxi) is now a large 

 source of oil-supply, but the principal commerce 

 mid manufacture centre at Marseilles. It is prin- 

 cipally cultivated on the vest coast of Africa, but 

 is now much grown in India. The price of the 

 shelled kernels in the London market is from 11 

 to 13 per ton. Ofire-oil used to l>e one of the 

 most valuable vegetable oils used for food, but it is 

 now much adulterated with or replaced by Gingelie 

 and cotton-seed oils. The average imports are 

 aliout 20,000 tuns, the best BlNUtish fetching 37 

 per tun. For lubricating .'11111 woollen manufac- 

 tures olive-oil has Iw'en hugely replaced by other 

 vegetable oils and lard-oil (see OMVE). 6ingelte 

 or Til-oil is the produce of the seed of Krsnmwn 

 indicum, which yields about 60 per cent, of oil ; and 



