COD-LIVER OIL 879 



COCOA.' ', A. well-known preparation from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao. It 

 Is stated to be made from the fragments of the seed-coats mixed -with portions of the 

 kernels. See CACAO. 



COCOA-WITTS. (Noix de Coco, Fr. ; Cocosnuss, Ger.) The cocoa-nut tree 

 (Cocos nucifera) is a native of tropical climates. It is one of the most important and 

 valuable of the palms. 



COCOA-WITT OIL. Cocoa-nut oil is obtained by two processes : one is by 

 pressure, the other by boiling the bruised nut and skimming off the oil as it forms on 

 the surface. 



It is a white solid, having a peculiar odour. It fuses a little above 70 F.; becomes 

 readily rancid, and dissolves easily in alcohol. It consists of a solid fat called cocin or 

 cocinine (a combination of glycerine and cocinic, or coco-stearic acid), and of a liquid 

 fat or oleine. Cocoa-nut oil is used in the manufacture of soap and candles. 



Mr. Soames obtained a patent in September, 1829, for making stearine and elaine 

 by the following process : 



Ho takes the substance called cocoa-nut oil, in the state of lard, in which it is im- 

 ported into this country, and submits it to a strong hydraulic pressure, having made 

 it up in small packages, 3 or 4 inches wide, 2 feet long, and 1 or 1-J inch thick. 

 These packages are formed by first wrapping up the said substance in a strong linen 

 cloth, of close texture, and then in an outward wrapper of strong sail-cloth. The 

 packages are to be placed side by side, in single rows, between the plates of the 

 press, allowing a small space between the packages for the escape of the elaine. 



The temperature at which the pressure is begun, should be from about 50 to 55, or 

 in summer as nearly at this pitch as can be obtained, and the packages of the said sub- 

 stance intended for pressure should be exposed for several hours previously to about 

 the same temperature. When the packages will no longer yield their oil or elaine 

 freely at this temperature, it is to be gradually raised ; but it must at no time exceed 

 65, and the lower the temperature at which the separation can be effected, the better 

 will be the quality of the oil expressed. 



When the packages are sufficiently pressed, that is, when they will give out no 

 more oil, or yield it only in drops at long intervals, the residuum is then to be 

 taken out and cleansed and purified, which is done by melting it in a well-tinned 

 copper vessel, which is fixed in an outer vessel, having a vacant space between, 

 closed at the top, into which steam is admitted, and the heat is kept up moderately 

 for a sufficient time to allow the impurities to subside ; but if a still higher degree of 

 purity is required, it is necessary to pass it through filters of thick flannel lined with 

 blotting paper. 



Having been thus cleansed or purified, it is fit for the manufacture of candles, which 

 are made by the ordinary process used in making mould tallow candles. Having thus 

 disposed of the stearine, or what is called the first product, he proceeds with the elaine 

 or oil expressed from it, and which he calls the second product, as follows : that is to 

 say, he purifies it by an admixture, according to the degree of its apparent foulness, 

 of from 1 to 2 per cent, by weight of the sulphuric acid of commerce, of about T80 

 specific gravity, diluted with six times its weight of water. The whole is then to be 

 violently agitated by mechanical means, and he prefers for this purpose the use of a 

 vessel constructed on the principle of a common barrel churn. When sufficiently 

 agitated, it will have a dirty whitish appearance, and is then to be drawn off into 

 another vessel, in which it is to be allowed to settle, and any scum that rises is to be 

 carefully taken off. In a day or two the impurities will be deposited at the bottom of 

 the oil, which will then become clear, or nearly so, and it is to be filtered through a 

 thick woollen cloth, after which it will be fit for burning in ordinary lamps and for 

 other uses. 



The process of separating the elaine from the stearine, bypressure, in manner afore- 

 said, had never before been applied to the substance called cocoa-nut oil, and conse- 

 quently no product had heretofore been obtained thereby from that substance fit for 

 being manufactured into candles in the ordinary way, or for being refined by any of 

 the usual modes, so as to burn in ordinary lamps, both which objects are attained by, 

 the method of preparing or manufacturing the said substance. 



Candles well made from the above material are a very superior article. The light 

 produced is more brilliant than from the same sized candle made of tallow ; the flame 

 is perfectly colourless, and the wick remains free from cinder, or any degree of foulness 

 during combustion. See CANDLES ; ELAIKR ; STEARINE. 



COD. The Morrhua vulgaris, a fish belonging to the family of Gadida. 



It is calculated that the take in Scotland of cod and ling amounts to about 

 4,000,000 individuals annually, of which upwards of 1,000,000 are from the Shetland 

 Islands. 



COD-LIVER Oil*. The oil obtained from the livers of several varieties of the 



