147 



The seeds contain about 60 per cent, of a fatty oil used by the 

 natives in cookery and suitable for the manufacture of soaps and 

 candles. The fat, owing to its acidity, is not considered suitable 

 for edible, pharmaceutical, or lubricating purposes without special 

 treatment. From samples examined at the Imperial Institute it 

 has been found that the kernels amount to 88 per cent, and the 

 shells to 12 per cent, of the whole seed, the former yielding 

 68 per cent, of oil and the latter 14 per cent. 



The oily constituents of the nut are solid at the ordinary 

 temperature, and in this respect resemble fats of the same class as 

 palm oil, cocoanut oil, etc. They are chiefly composed of palmitin 

 and olein, together with some free fatty acid, chiefly oleic. 



A chemical examination furnished the following results : — 



Melting I ™y 



Point. 



Point. 



Acid 

 Value. 



; Saponifica' 



tion 



Value. 



Iodine 

 Value 



Fat from the entire 



kernels. 

 Fat from kernels only 



37° C. 



40° C. 



20-25° C. 

 25-30° C. 



52-5 



1 

 42-4 



210 

 241 



55-8 



47-8 



The commercial value of the Mafoureira nut has been estimated 

 at from £8 to £9 per ton delivered in Hull, in consignments of 

 not less than from 50 to 100 tons, but it is recommended that the oil 

 should be expressed in the countries of production in preference 

 to shipping the raw material (Bull. Imp. Inst. 1903, p. 28). 



At Inhambane the seed can be bought for little more than \d. 

 per kilo, (about 42s. per ton), and it sells in Marseilles for £8 per 

 ton, freight costing (1901) 50s. per ton (Cons. Rep. Ann. No. 2630, 

 1901, p. 4). A sample of seeds sent to Kew (October, 1906) by 

 Mr. W. H. Johnson from Mozambique was valued in London 

 at £9 10s. per ton (Mas. Kew). The cake is said to contain 

 nearly the same percentage of nitrogen compounds as linseed cake 

 {Linxim usitatissimum) (Bull. Imp. Inst. l.c p. 29). 



In 1900, 270 tons of Beed were shipped from Inhambane to 

 Marseilles and 2 tons to Hamburg (Cons. Rep. Ann. No. 2630, 

 1901, p. 4). 



The wood does not readily warp or shrink, and sound planks 

 3-4 feet wide may be cut, though it is apt to become worm eaten 

 within a year or two ; it is used in Cape Colony for yokes and 

 general purposes ; polishes well and makes very pretty furniture, 

 and several shades of colour can be obtained from the same species 

 (Sim, For. Fl. Cape Col. p. 161). In South Tropical Africa it is 

 used for making small canoes, etc. (Baines, Mus. Kew). In 

 Zanzibar it is used for making platters and small canoes (Kirk, 

 Mus. Kew). 



According to Grant, the bark in the neighbourhood of Madi. 

 Central Africa, is used as a cure for syphilis, and the natives 

 obtain from the tree a liquid which they use as a sauce (Trans. 

 Linn. Soc. xxix. p. 45) ; the bark is said to be poisonous ; used by 

 the natives of Cape Colony as an emetic in small doses (Sim, I.e.). 

 33385 K l" 



