VEGETABLE OILS. 47 



of forty feet ; the leaves being large, and the branches 

 drooping towards the water, give it a very beautiful 

 appearance : its fruit is produced in the greatest pro- 

 fusion about December and January, being as large as 

 a walnut, with two long wings to the seed. These 

 nuts are collected by the natives, and yield a very 

 large proportion of oil, which, on being allowed to 

 cool, takes the consistence of sperm, and in appearance 

 very much resembles that substance. The natives at 

 present only value this as a cooking oil ; but when the 

 demand for it in Europe becomes better known to 

 them, they will doubtless increase their manufacture 

 of it. 



In England it has proved to be the best lubricating 

 substance for steam machinery, far surpassing even 

 olive oil; and it has been used in Manilla in the 

 manufacture of candles, and found to answer admir- 

 ably. As it becomes more common, it will doubtless 

 be applied to many other purposes. From the quick- 

 ness of its growth, and the great profusion with which 

 it bears its fruit, it will, should the demand for it 

 continue, become a profitable object for cultivation, by 

 which the quality and quantity would most likely be 

 improved and increased. It is also found in Java and 

 Sumatra, and a similar substance has been lately sent 

 from China. In Borneo it is called by the natives indif- 

 ferently ' miniak mencabang/ or ' miniak tankawan.' 



Another oil expressed from the seed of a tree, called 

 ' katiow ' by the natives, and much valued for cooking, 

 is, as far as I have been able to learn, entirely unknown 



