JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1921. 



27 



52449. Aletjrites moluccana (L.) Willd. Euphorbiacese. 



(A. trilola Forst.) Lumbang. 

 From Mayaguez, Porto Rico. Seeds presented by D. W. May, in charge, 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. Received February 10, 1921. 

 " Individuals here eat these nuts to some extent, but occasionally they are 

 made quite ill from them, owing to the stage of ripeness of the nut or to 

 some peculiar characteristic of the person that eats them. If they are eaten 

 unripe, they act as a strong purgative ; if fully mature and roasted, they are 

 doubtless, in most cases, harmless. From the general experience in Porto 

 Rico, however, I would advise eating them, if at all, with caution." {May.) 



"Lumbang, or candlenut, oil is used in soap making, and in the Philippine 

 Islands the press cake is highly prized as a fertilizer." {R. A. Young.) 



52450. Telfairia pedata (J. E. Smith) Hook. Cucurbitaceae. 



From Nairobi, Kenia, British East Africa. Seeds presented by S. W. 

 Eells, American consul, through Dr. H. L. Shantz, Physiologist in Charge 

 of Plant Physiological and Fermentation Investigations, Bureau of Plant 

 Industry. Received January 13, 1921. 

 "A perennial climber, indigenous to eastern Africa, Zanzibar, and Pemba, 

 which grows very luxuriantly and prolifically in this colony. The kernels of 

 the seeds are used by the natives, both as a foodstuff and as a source of edible 

 oil. 



" The following analysis showing the percentage of the constituents of the 

 seeds has been published by Gilbert (see Sadebeck, Die Kultnrgewiichse der 

 Deutschen Kolonien und Ihre Erzeugnisse, Jena, 1899, p. 245) : Moisture, 6.45; 

 ash, 2.04; oil, 36.02; protein, 19.63; woody fiber, 7.30; nitrogen-free extractive 

 matter, 28.45. 



"These seeds are flat, irregularly circular in shape, and about 11 to 1^ 

 inches in diameter. The single seeds average 4.9 grams in weight. 

 "The Imperial Institute reported as follows: 



" ' The seeds consist approximately of fibrous husk 11' per cent, shell 38 

 per cent, and kernel 51 per cent.' 



"A previous investigator has recorded 7, 33, and 60 per cent of fibrous husk, 

 shell, and kernel, respectively. The kernel yields 56.9 per cent of slightly 

 reddish brown oil. 



" The oil from seeds from Zanzibar gave the following analysis : Specific 

 gravity at 15° C, 0.919 ; acid value, 2.6 ; saponification, 196 ; iodin value, 89. 



"This is a nondrying oil and has a pleasant, slightly sweet taste. It would 

 be suitable for soap manufacture, and also as an edible oil. The seed is used 

 by Europeans in this colony both as a nut and as a flavoring for cakes. 



" The reason that these seeds are not more used is due to the hardness of 

 the shell and the difficulty of removing it, as well as to the intensely bitter, 

 green skin which separates the kernel from the shell. If a method could be 

 found of removing the tough fibrous husks and this bitter skin, it would appear 

 that the seed would be of considerable commercial value, both for its edible 

 oil and for the manufacture of soap, as w^ell as for the resultant oil cake 

 which would probably make a good cattle feed. It would be impossible, however, 

 to use the cake after pressing the unhusked seeds on account of the skin men- 

 tioned above. 



*A German syndicate of soap and candle manufacturers at Mannheim has 

 investigated the possibilities of these seeds, but express the opinion that it 

 would be inadvisable to place consignments of the seeds on the European market 

 until a machine had been invented for rapidly and cheaply shelling them. 



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