75 



temperature must not run high. I have made common soap from the 

 dessicatedakee^M/p without going to the trouble of expressing the oil. 

 It saponifies very readily. Akee is well worth considering. The oil 

 cake is palatable and nutritious. 



For common soap, dessicate the pulp. In expression of oil, dessi- 

 cate the whole fruit, there is no occasion to remove the red. It is 

 difficult to express oil from the dessicated pulp, as on the application 

 of pressure, oil and pulp pass through fine linen. Not so with the 

 dried whole or half fruit, the oil flows readily, leaving a solid cake 

 behind, of a savory smell and nut-like flavour, edible by human beings 

 and animals. 



The juice from the skin makes a vegetable soap but it grows 

 mouldy quickly. I have not tried the seeds yet for oil. 

 Could the refined oil not be used as olive olive ? 



THR CHARACTERS OF OIL OF AKEE. 

 BY W. GARSED. 



The oil of akee, handed to me by Mr. Holmes, is a yellow, non- 

 drying, butter-like fat at ordinary temperatures, consisting of a liquid 

 portion, and a solid granular portion. 



It has a peculiar odour, and an oily, somewhat unpleasant taste. 



In the diagram a comparison has been drawn between akee oil, 

 palm oil, and olive oil. 



Akee oil begins to melt at about 25°C, is quite fluid at 30°C„ but 

 does not become perfectly clear until the temperature reaches 35°0. 

 The melted oil on cooling begins to solidify at about 20°C. 



The specific gravity was taken at a temperature of 99°-100°C., and 

 compared with water at 15-5°C. The number found, 0.867, approxi- 

 mates closely to that of palm oil, which has a specific gravity of 

 0*8586 at a temperature of 98°-100°C. 



The Hehner value is the percentage of insoluble fatty acid sobtainable 

 by saponifying the oil, and decomposing the soap with a mineralacid. 



The Eeichert value is a measure of the proportion of volatile or 

 soluble fatty acids. It represents the number of cubic centimetres of 

 decinormal potassium hydrate required for the neutralisation of the 

 volatile fatty acids obtained from 5 Grm. of the oil by the Reichert 

 Heissl distillation process. The low figure obtained, 0.9, indicates 

 that the amount of volatile acids present is practically nil. This is the 

 case with most vegetable fats. 



The saponification value represents the number of milligrams of 

 potassium hydrate required to neutralise the total fatty acids in one 

 gram of the oil. 



The acid value represents the number of milligrams of potassium 

 hydrate required to neutralise the free fatty acids in one gram of the 

 oil. The value found was 20*1. The acid values of palm oil and olive 

 oil, and most other fixed oils, vary considerably according to age. 



The iodine value is a measure of the proportion of unsaturated or 

 liquid fatty acids. It is the percentage of iodine absorbed by the oil 

 when treated with Hubl's iodine solution. 



The mixed fatty acids are obtained by saponifying the oil with 

 caustic alkali, decomposing the soap with a dilute mineral acid, filter- 

 ing out the liberated acids, washing with boiling water and drying. 



