OILS AND PATS, ETC. 333 



ascertained by analysis to be equal to cod-liver oil, but it requires more 

 care and skill in the preparation. 



Porpoise Oil. — Small samples of oil of the white porpoise or 

 Beluga, and of the black porpoise of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were 

 transmitted from Canada. But it is to be regretted that no large 

 specimens of these excellent fat oils, whose extraction constitutes such 

 an important branch of industry in the district of Quebec, should be 

 found in the Exhibition. An account of the fishery of the white por- 

 poise was given in vol. i, p. 107. 



Dugong Oil, from Ceylon, from New South Wales, and Moreton 

 Bay. — A descriptive article on this oil will be found in the Technolo- 

 gist, vql. i., p. 311. The Ceylon oil is of a concrete character; the 

 Australian of a more fluid nature. 



Under the name of Peixe boi oil, I exhibited an allied oil from 

 the cowfish or laiuentin of Brazil and Guiana (Manatus Americanus.) 

 This animal yields from 5 to 25 gallons of oil, which is used for light and 

 for cooking. The layer of fat from which it is boiled out is of a greater 

 or less thickness beneath the skin, generally about an inch. 



The fat has a very pleasant smell and tastes like the oil of sweet- 

 almonds. It forms an admirable substitute for butter and does not turn 

 rancid in the sun. The fat ^of the tail is of a firmer consistence, and 

 when boiled is most delicate eating. 



Jacare Oil. — This is a fixed oil of a red colour, extracted from the 

 adipose tissue of the alligator in Brazil, commonly called the Jacare. 

 It is used for burning, although of a nauseous odour, and medicinally 

 for embrocations in rheumatism. 



Alligators are killed in great numbers in parts of the river Amazon 

 for their fat, which is rendered into oil. Although the oil has a dis- 

 agreeable smell it is not worse than train oil. 



Anta Oil. — A liquid crystalline oil, of a yellow colour, obtained from 

 the adipose tissue of the Tapir Americana in Brazil. It is used as a 

 therapeutic and an emanagogue, and as a remedy for rheumatics. 



Sucurigu Oil. — This is also extracted from the adipose tissue of 

 a reptile so named in Brazil. The oil is liquid when well prepared, of a 

 yellowish colour, and used for rheumatism. 



Turtle Oil or Butter — In the large collection of oils exhibited 

 by the writer were samples of turtle oil imported from Sydney, — but no 

 doubt the produce of some of the Pacific Islands — and turtle butter from 

 Brazil — samples were also shown in the Brazilian Court under the name 

 of Mantiega Tartaruga. It is stated to be extracted principally from the 

 eggs, but also from the fat, of various species of tortoises by means of 

 fermentation and decoction. It is of a yellowish colour and opaque 

 when well prepared, clear and liquid when purified, with a peculiar 

 flavour. It is much employed for culinary purposes, and is in generaluse 

 in the province of Para by the lower classes. In medicine it has the 



