Jcjly 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 



557 



OIL OF CALOPHYLLUM INOPHYLLUM. 



BY DR. SEEMANN. 



The most valuable oil produced in Fiji is that extracted from the seeds 

 of this tree, the Dilo of the natives, the Tamanu of Eastern Polynesia, 

 and the Cashampa of India. It is the bitter oil, or woondel of Indian 

 commerce. The natives use it for polishing arms, and greasing their 

 bodies, when cocoa-nut oil is not at hand. But the great reputation this 

 oil enjoys throughout Polynesia and the East Indies rests upon its 

 medicinal properties, as a liniment in rheumatism, pains in the joints, 

 and bruises. Its efficacy in this respect can hardly be exaggerated, and 

 recommends it to the attention of European practitioners. The oil is 

 kept by the Fijians in gourd flasks, and there being only a limited 

 quantity made, I was charged about sixpence per pint for it, paid in 

 calico and cutlery. The tree is one of the most common littoral plants 

 in the group ; its round fruits, mixed with the square-shaped ones of 

 Barringtonia speciosa, the pine-cone-like ones of the Sago palm (Sagus 

 vitrensis, Wendl.) and the flat seeds of the Walai ( Enlada scandens, Benth.) 

 densely cover the sandy beaches. Dilo oil never congeals in the lowest 

 temperature of the Fijis, as cocoamut oil often does during the cool 

 season. It is of a greenish tinge, and a very little of it will impart its 

 hue to a whole cask of cocoa-nut oil. Its commercial value is only 

 partially known in the Fijis, and was found out accidentally. Amongst 

 the contributions in cocoa-nut oil which the natives furnish towards the 

 support of the Wesleyan missions/sorne Dilo oil had been procured, which, 

 on arriving at Sydney was rejected by the broker who purchased the 

 other oil, on account of its greenish tinge and strange appearance. On 

 being shown to others, a chemist, recognising it as the bitter oil of 

 India, purchased it at the rate of 601. per tun ; and he must have made 

 a good profit on it, as the article fetches as much as 90Z. per tun. The 

 Dilo grows to the height of sixty feet, and the stem is from three to four 

 feet in diameter, generally thickly crowded with epiphytal orchids and 

 ferns. The dark foliage forms a magnificent crown, producing a dense 

 shade ; and when, during the flowering season, it is interspersed with 

 numerous white flowers, the aspect of the. whole tree is truly noble. 

 " The leaves are torn in small pieces, soaked in water for a night, and 

 then used for washing inflamed eyes." — (Storck). The exudation from 

 the stem is, according to G. Bennett, the Tacamahaca resin of commerce, 

 used by Tahitians as a scent. Carpenters and cabinet-makers value the 

 wood on account of its beautiful grain, hardness, and red tinge. Boats 

 and canoes are built of it, and it is named with the Vesi (Afzelia bijuga, 

 A. Gray) as the best timber produced in Fiji. In order to extract the 

 oil, the round fruit is allowed to drop in its outer fleshy covering, and 



