GRAPE SKINS AND ORANGE PEEL. 305 



Among the other waste products from which oil is obtained 

 may be mentioned grape seeds, which, though for the most 

 part still wasted, have been long used for this purpose in 

 Italy, the Levant, and part of Germany. Two casks of 

 seeds yield thirty-three pounds of oil, which when purified 

 is equal to olive, while the residue makes good soap, and 

 the refuse of the seeds is used as fuel. The seeds are also 

 valuable for fining and strengthening wine. 



Argol, a crude variety of cream of tartar, which forms 

 a crust in wine-vats and bottles, is also obtained from 

 grape skins and refuse grapes, and from it is made tartaric 

 acid, which is largely used in calico-printing, as well as for 

 making lemonade. When the argol has been extracted the 

 remaining refuse is made to yield gas and coke. 



But there are still other sources of oil which must 

 not be passed over. Orange peel of which enormous 

 quantities are wasted, i.e., cleared away with the street- 

 sweepings contains much oil, which is easily expressed, and 

 often used for making soap and scent. At some of the 

 theatres and music-halls, where oranges are largely consumed 

 by the audience, the peel is collected and sold. 



Sawdust also yields oil, as well as spirit, oxalic acid, 

 charcoal, and potash ; and from the oil and potash together, 

 soap is obtained. Immense quantities of sawdust are pro- 

 duced in the great saw-mills of the United States, Canada, and 

 Norway ; and except being used for packing, for sprinkling 

 floors, and for smoking fish, as litter for horses, and for mixing 

 with fish refuse as manure, nothing more used to be done 

 with it. The sawdust is, however, much more valuable, now 

 that the various substances above mentioned can be produced 

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