2 BULLETIN 632, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



possess considerable value. The seeds of the tomato contain a fatty 

 oil of excellent quality, and the seed cake is valuable as a stock food. 



Considerable work has already been done in foreign countries, 

 especially in Italy, on the utilization of tomato waste. Battaglia 

 (4) 1 in 1901 investigated tomato-seed oil and reported on its prop- 

 erties. Later, Kochs (9), in an investigation of certain residues, 

 mentioned tomato-seed oil and discussed its properties, stating that 

 17.3 per cent of oil having an agreeable taste and smell could be ob- 

 tained from the seeds. 



In the manufacture of tomato products, Italy perhaps leads all 

 countries. The industry there has assumed such proportions that 

 the problem of the proper disposal of the residues has become an 

 important consideration. Perciabosco and Semeraro (12) in 1910 

 investigated tomato residues with a view to extracting the fatty oil, 

 determining also the industrial value of the oil and the fertilizer 

 and feeding values of the residues after extraction. The oil ex- 

 tracted by carbon bisulphid was found to have properties similar to 

 those of the oil previously reported by Battaglia. The fat-free 

 residues were found to be useful for fertilizing purposes. 



Harcourt (6) in 1907 called attention to the tomato refuse ac- 

 cumulating in increasing quantities at the canning factories in 

 Canada. It was reported that a large portion of the refuse was 

 flushed into near-by rivers, but in some cases it was allowed to 

 accumulate near the factories, thus becoming a nuisance. Some of 

 the refuse was spread over the land as a fertilizer. The manurial 

 value was tested and found to compare favorably with barnyard 

 manure in the three important elements, potash, phosphoric acid, 

 and nitrogen. 



Accomazzo (1) in 1910 stated that in the province of Parma, Italy, 

 850.000 quintals (83,660 tons) of tomatoes were used annually. This 

 quantity would yield from 11,000 to 12,000 tons of skins and seeds, 

 containing about 80 per cent moisture. After removing the greater 

 portion of the moisture the residue would amount to about 3,000 to 

 4.000 tons, of which about two-thirds are seeds. It is stated that 

 these seeds when extracted by pressure yield 18 per cent of oil and 

 by solvents 20 per cent. It would therefore be possible to recover 

 from 500 to 600 tons of oil from the waste seeds. Tomato-seed oil 

 is stated to have a heat value about equal to that of olive oil. When 

 treated with driers it acquires good drying properties and is also 

 useful in soap making. The press cake is said to have excellent 

 nutritive value. 



Fachini (5) also recommends the extraction of oil from the seeds, 

 but instead of drying the residue, as proposed by Accomazzo, he 



* The serial numbers in parentheses refer to " Literature cited," pp. 14—15. 



