110 COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



oily seeds in all tropical and sub-tropical countries, especially 

 in West tropical Africa. After the fall of the flower 

 the young pod pushes its way beneath the surface of the 

 earth, where it ripens. The introduction of the ground nut 

 as an oil seed into European trade dates from 1840, since 

 which time the imports have increased enormously. There 

 are no authentic records of the imports of ground nut oil, 

 but West Africa, India, and China supply by far the largest 

 bulk. The oil is very free from stearine, and is consequently 

 much used in pharmacy in the same way as olive oil, 

 especially in India. With us it is also largely used for 

 culinary and industrial purposes, as soap-making, etc. 



COTTON SEED. The cotton seed of commerce is furnished 

 by several species of Gossypium. The seeds were first im- 

 ported into the English market as oil seeds some thirty or 

 forty years since, but it is quite within recent years that the 

 trade in cotton seeds has assumed a position of importance. 

 In America at the present time it has taken the place of a 

 distinct industry, over 400,000 tons of seeds being annually 

 expressed, the quantity indeed increasing every year. A 

 large quantity of this oil comes to this country directly and 

 indirectly. Egypt also sends cargoes of seeds to English 

 ports for expression here. Much of the oil is used by soap- 

 niakers, besides which it makes a good lubricating oil ; and 

 when carefully refined in France, and put into white glass 

 bottles, it is sent into this country as " Pure Olive Oil," and 

 used for culinary purposes. So recently as December, 1888, 

 the British Consul at Venice, reporting on the trade and 

 commerce for that port for 1887, says that the action of the 

 Italian Government in enacting a higher import duty on 

 cotton oil with the intention of preventing its being mixed 

 with olive oil has had a contrary effect, the price of olive 

 oil being considerably lowered, the reason of which is 

 said to be that by the mixture of cotton oil the ordinary 

 qualities of olive oil, produced in the South of Italy, 



