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St *:' 



THE TECHNOLOGIST. 



VEGETABLE OILS AND FATS OF INDIA. 



BY M. C. COOKE, F.S.S. 



There is no country which supplies us with a greater variety of vegetable 

 oils than India, and her resources are still unexhausted ; for we could as 

 readily be supplied with as many more, and those of an equal value to 

 the varieties already established as articles of commerce. To Indian 

 fibres and Indian oils there seems scarcely to be any limit ; but the draw- 

 back of careless preparation, so injurious in the former instance to the 

 value of the commodity, can scarcely be pleaded in the latter. Had as 

 much care been taken to make the commercial world acquainted with 

 the oils and fats as with the fibres of India, there is little doubt that 

 many of the kinds now unknown would ere this have become staples of 

 commerce. 



Adul; Odul ; Poovengah ; Poovana Oil (Sarcostigma Kleinii). — This 

 is a medicinal oil, said to be useful in the treatment of rheumatism. It 

 was shown by the Tinnevelly and Travancore Committees at the Madras 

 Exhibition of 1855, but does not appear to have excited much interest, 

 or to be of any great importance. It has long been known and held in 

 repute amongst the native medical practitioners of India, and it is largely 

 used on the western coast. 



Badamie ; Almond (Amygdalus communis). — The almond is a native 

 of the Himalayas, and is abundant in Cashmere. The oil is colourless 

 or very slightly yellow, and is congealed with difficulty. It has a sweet 

 taste, a light agreeable smell, and in all its properties and uses resembles 

 olive oil. It is obtained for native use in India, but does not form an 

 article of export. Both varieties of almond, bitter and sweet, are 

 imported into the northern parts of India from Ghoorbund, and into the 

 southern parts from the Persian Gulf. 



Bassia Butter, or Phoolwa. — This is a beautiful, white, solid fat, the 

 produce of the fruit of Bassia butyracea, and melts only at a temperature 

 above 120°Fahr., in which it is superior to all other vegetable fats pro- 

 duced in India. The tree is a native of the Almora hills, where it is 

 highly esteemed as a liniment in rheumatism, contraction of the limbs, &c, 

 and when used by the natives of rank is frequently impregnated with 



VOL, II. B 



