237 EICINUS COMMUNIS 



obtained by expression, for the oil obtained by absolute alcohol 

 from castor oil seeds, as well as the seeds themselves, or an 

 emulsion prepared with them, have a far more powerful purgative 

 action than the expressed oil. 



2. OLEUM KICINI. Castor Oil. Production, Varieties , and Com- 

 merce. Castor oil may be obtained from the seeds in three ways : 

 1. by decoction ; 2. by expression; and 3. by some solvent, as 

 alcohol. All the oil, however, now consumed in England, India, 

 and the United States ; and with few exceptions, in other parts 

 of the world, is obtained by expression. All processes in which 

 a high temperature is employed are considered objectionable from 

 increasing the acridity of the oil. In India, in order to extract 

 the oil, the seeds are first gently crushed between rollers, 

 and after the seed coats or husks, and unsound seeds, have been 

 removed by hand-picking, the cleaned kernels are submitted to 

 pressure in an hydraulic press ; and the oil thus obtained is first 

 heated with water until the water boils, by which the albuminous 

 matters are separated as a scum ; and the oil is then finally 

 strained through flannel. In the north of Italy, more especially 

 about Verona, the fresh seeds are alone used, and after the seeds 

 have been broken and their integuments very carefully removed 

 with a winnowing machine and by the hand, the blanched seeds 

 are put into small hempen bags, which are arranged in super- 

 posed layers in a powerful hydraulic press with a sheet of iron 

 heated to 90 between each layer, so as to enable the oil to flow 

 readily ; they are lastly submitted to pressure in a room, which in 

 the winter is heated to a temperature of about 70. The oil 

 which first flows is of the finest quality ; but an inferior oil is 

 subsequently obtained by pressing the marc at a somewhat higher 

 temperature. 



By somewhat modified processes good castor oil is also obtained 

 in this country and in the United States ; but in the West Indies 

 it is prepared by boiling the crushed seeds after depriving them 

 of their integuments, in water, and afterwards separating the oil 

 by skimming or straining. The oil thus extracted is very inferior 

 to that obtained by expression, as before described. 



