PRODUCTION" OF SWEET-OEANGE OIL. 11 



built of staves 2 inches thick and 2 inches wide, forming with each 

 other a tight joint. Each stave should have a groove one-fourth of 

 an inch by one-fourth of an inch lengthwise on the inside face, and 

 this groove should continue across the end of the stave at the bottom 

 end of the drum. A lining of sheet brass perforated with holes one- 

 sixteenth of an inch in diameter and about an inch apart should be 

 placed inside the drum. The press bag of 10-ounce canvas should 

 be made shghtly greater in diameter than the drum and about 6 

 inches longer than the drum, in order to allow for the folding of the 

 canvas over the top of the cake. 



It was found expedient to release the pressure several times in the 

 treatment of a cake, since this apparently facilitates the extraction 

 of the oil. In commercial operations where several presses would be 

 employed this could be done readily by passing the drum from one 

 screw to the next, inasmuch as these screws would probably aU be 

 mounted in one frame having a common base. 



The stiU can be purchased from dealers in pharmaceutical and 

 chemical supphes. Heat can be supplied by gas, gasoline, kerosene, 

 or wood stoves. Separatory funnels, glass or tin funnels, filter paper, 

 and any other minor apparatus can be obtained from the dealers 

 mentioned. Burnt Hme can also be readily obtained from local 

 dealers. The entire outfit occupies but httle floor space and is 

 comparatively inexpensive. 



COST OF PRODUCTION. 



After the plant is equipped, the cost of producing the oil will 

 depend entirely upon the price paid for the waste fruit and the cost 

 of labor. In the experimental work here recorded the cost was 

 about 15 cents for extracting the oil from a standard field box of 

 oranges of approximately 100 pounds, and it is believed that on a 

 commercial scale the cost will be no greater for fruit dehvered at 

 the factory door. By using several presses, as previously men- 

 tioned, it is believed that even this cost can h6 reduced materially. 



YIELD OF OIL. 



In some preliminary experiments the yield of oil was found to 

 vary greatly according to the variety, stage of growth, climatic 

 conditions, and quality of the fruit. From data secured by labo- 

 ratory tests on several varieties from a great number of locahties 

 the yield was found to range from 2.5 to 9 ounces of oil per 100 

 pounds of fruit. Satisfactory yields of oil have also been obtained 

 by this process from frosted fruit and from fruit in the earlier stages 

 of stem-end rot or showing only a small decayed spot. The peeling 

 machme, however, will not handle frosted fruits which have become 

 soft or fruits which show large areas of decay. 



