Oils and Fats- 



310 



[Oct. 1906. 



cooking and medicine, its chief use in Malabar is for lighting purposes. Although 

 the kusam is one of the commonest of our trees, and its oil has been known for ages 

 in India, no endeavour seems to have been made as yet to eliminate the fat contained 

 in it. 



The species being a profuse seed bearer, thousands of tons of the fruit must 

 now lie annually rotting upon the ground ; whereas, under {proper conservancy and 

 technical manipulation much of this wastage could not only be retrieved but also 

 made a source of wealth. During the season of mature fructescence, portable 

 mills, if set up and worked in the localities in which the tree abounds are likely 

 to express large quantities of the product which until recent years was believed 

 to be the source of the Macassar oil of commerce. This famous product of the 

 Sunda Islands is now known to be yielded by the Cupania sideroxylon, and though 

 kusam fat is in consequence at present divested of the halo of romance that 

 surrounded it. it has nevertheless to be still regarded as one of the most valuable 

 oils of the country. As a lubricant for machinery, in the manufacture of soft soaps, 

 but above all for lighting and candle making, the fat would appear to be deserving 

 of application ; and, although the medicinal virtues with which it is reputed to be 

 possessed in Malabar and elsewhere await scientific inquiry and determination, its 

 adaptability for utilization in the industrial arts is its chief recommendation to 

 our present consideration. 



[The tree is common in Ceylon, where it is known as the Ceylon Oak.— Ed.] 



