VEGETABLE FATS AND WAX. 271 



edible oil, the ripe fruits are picked, the seeds are removed, 

 and the flesh pressed. Usually the fruit is shaken or 

 knocked off. More oil is obtained when the fruit is put 

 in heaps and allowed to ferment. The oil is at first cloudy, 

 but later it becomes clear ; colorless oil is obtained by 

 clarification with animal charcoal, or by exposing to air 

 and light for a long time ; the fruit which has remained on 

 the tree all winter yields colorless oil. In every case, 

 however, the oil is rancid; therefore, not edible, yet valu- 

 able for all other purposes. The oil is solid generally at 

 50° F. That obtained by cold and gentle pressing, with 

 little palmatin and much olein, is solid at lower, and that 

 obtained by warm and strong pressing, with much pal- 

 matin, is solid at higher, temperatures. , Its specific gravity 

 is .86-91. Its chemical composition is complex. It is 

 used extensively in the manufacture of soaps, and in 

 illumination, also for lubricating machinery. Watch- 

 makers keep the oil in stoppered bottles, in which a piece 

 of lead is placed, upon which a viscid whitish mass collects, 

 leaving the oil more pure for their use. 



243. The Wax Palm, Copernica cerifera, is found in 

 Brazil. The natives eat the bitter fruits, and from the 

 leaves they extract a fibre for making hats, thatching, and 

 clothing. The hard wood is used in cabinet-making. The 

 root is diuretic, and used medicinally. The wax, called 

 Cerea Wax, or Carnauba Wax, forms a coating on the 

 leaves, which, under the microscope, is found to consist of 

 prismatic and cylindrical rods perpendicular to the surface. 

 The leaves are carefully cut from the tree and shaken to 

 obtain the grayish-white powder, which is then melted. 

 The raw wax is of a dirty, yellowish-green, filled with 

 small air bubbles. It is hard, brittle, odorless, and taste- 



