, 149 



oil has also been recommended for soap and candle-making if it 

 can be produced at a reasonable cost (Gane, Pharm. Journ. [3] 

 xxv. p. 1150). 



Administered internally the oil is said to possess slight purgative 

 properties, but the taste is too nauseous to admit of its employ- 

 ment for this purpose (I.e.). The very bitter taste would also 

 prevent its use as a food. In British Guiana it is used for dress- 

 ing the hair, as an anthelmintic, for healing wounds, and for 

 burning in lamps (Mus. Kew). 



The constituents of the oil have been defined as : free fatty 

 acid, glycerates of oleic, palmitic and stearic acids, and a small 

 amount of a bitter principle of an alkaloidal character ; the melt- 

 ing point at about 20° C, and the specific gravity at 15° C. as 0*923 

 (Gane, I.e.). 



The bark of the tree is also very bitter, and is considered a good 

 febrifuge. 



The wood, according to Laslett, is used as a substitute for plain 

 and inferior mahogany (Timber and Timber Trees, p. 410), but is 

 unsuitable for important works of construction on account of a 

 strong tendency to split and tear during seasoning (I.e. p. 277). 

 Stone found a log about 18 inches in diameter to work up very 

 well (Timb. Comm. p. 39). Used in British Guiana for mill and 

 mortar-beds, ordnance, house framing, etc. (I.e.) ; for furniture, 

 shingles, and the masts and spars of vessels (Mus. Kew). 

 A specimen at Kew is light brown in colour ; it is stated to take a 

 fine polish and to make most durable furniture ; specific gravity 

 •667 (=41*6 lbs. per cubic foot). In 1886 it was selling at 9d. to 

 Is. 3d. per cubic foot, f.o.b. Demerara River ; shipped in logs 10 

 to 20 inches square (Cat. Woods, Brit. Guiana, suitable for cabinet 

 making. Exhibit by Park and Cunningham, Demerara, at the 

 Col. and Indian Exhib. 1886, S. Kensington, p. 11, No. 42). This 

 specimen now shows a specific gravity of '5858=36*6 lbs. per 

 cubic foot (Mus. Kew). 



Be/. — " Fixed Oil of Carapa guianensis," Gane, in Pharm. Journ. 

 [3] xxv. 1895, p. 1150. — " Huile de Carapa de la Guyane," Heckel 

 in Ann. Inst. Col. Marseille, v. 1898, 2nd fasc. (Graines Grasses nouv. 

 Coh Franc.) pp. 141-152.— " Carapa Oil from Trinidad," in Tech. 

 Rep. & Sci. Papers, Imp. Inst. 1903, pp. 135-136.— " Andiroba 

 Nuts from Sergipe, Brazil, received through the Foreign Office," 

 I.e. pp. 136-137. — Mechanical Properties of the Wood, I.e. p. 285. — 

 " Crabwood " in Timbers of Commerce, Stone, pp. 38, 39 (W. Rider 

 & Son, Ltd., London, 1904). 



Carapa procera, DC. Prod. i. (1878), p. 626. 



A tree, 70-80 ft. high or less. Leaves paripinnate, 1.1—2 ft. long ; 

 leaflets 6-12 pairs, shortly stalked obovate-oblong or elliptic-oblong, 

 shortly acuminate to the apex, cuneate at the base, 8-12 in. long, 

 2-3 in. broad, coriaceous, glabrous, shining on the upper surface, 

 dull on the lower. Panicles lax, many-flowered, equalling the 

 leaves. Flowers pinkish, pentamerous, J in. long, glabrous. 

 Sepals rounded. Petals obovate. Staminal tube ovoid, obtusely 

 10-toothed ; anthers 10, just within the tube, alternating with the 



