CARAP OIL. 



519 



red color. It is found abundantly in the Timneh country, and 

 over the colony of Sierra Leone. It is manufactured in the fol- 

 lowing manner : — -The nuts having been well dried in the sun, are 

 hung up in wicker racks or hurdles, and exposed to the smoke of 

 the huts, after which they are roasted and subjected to trituration 

 in large wooden mortars, until reduced to a pulp. The mass is 

 then boiled, when the supernatant oil is removed by skimming. 

 The natives principally prepare the oil to afford light ; the leaves 

 are used by the Kroomen as a thatch. It is held in high estimation 

 as an anthelmintic. The oil is sold in Sierra Leone at 2s. a gallon, 

 and could be procured in abundance from the coast as an article 

 of commerce. 



Carap or Crab oil {Cara-pa guianensis). — This is a sort of 

 vegetable butter, being sometimes solid and sometimes half fluid, 

 which is obtained from the seed of a large tree abundant in the 

 forests of Gruiana, and also found in Trinidad. It is said to turn 

 rancid very soon when exposed to the air, but this is probably 

 caused by the presence of impurities, arising from the crude and 

 imperfect way in which it is prepared by the natives, who boil the 

 kernels, leave them in a heap for a few days, then skim them, 

 and lastly reduce them into a paste in a wooden mortar, which 

 is then spread on an inclined board, and exposed to the heat of 

 the sun, so that the oil may melt and gradually trickle down into 

 a vessel placed below to receive it. A prize medal was awarded 

 for this oil at the Great Exhibition in 1851. 



Carap oil in Trinidad is highly esteemed as an unguent for the 

 hair, and also for applying to the wounds of animals, for destroying 

 ticks and other insects which infest cattle — also for the cure of 

 rheumatism. An oil called Carap oil is also obtained in the East, 

 from the almonds of XyZoc«r/>?^5 granatum, or Carapa Molluccensis^ 

 of Lanark, which is used by the natives to dress the hair and anoint 

 the skm, so as to keep off insects. 



Cacao fat, the butter-like substance obtained from the seeds of 

 Theobroma cacao, is esteemed as an emollient. 



The nuts of the Grreat Macaw tree (Acrocomia fusiformis), a 

 majestic species of palm, furnishes much oil. This tree is the Cocos 

 fusiformis, of Jacquin, and other intertropical botanists. It is a 

 native of Trinidad and Jamaica, and is found also very commonly 

 in South America. 



The method of extracting the oil is as follows: — The nut or 

 kernel is slightly roasted and cleaned, then ground to a paste, first 

 in a mill, and then on a livigating stone. This paste, gently heated 

 and mixed with 3-lOths of its weight of boiling water, is put into 

 a bag, and the oil expressed between two heated plates of iron ; it 

 yields about 7-lOths or 8-lOths of oil. If discolored it can be 

 purified, when melted, by filtration. It is then of the consistence 

 of butter, of a golden yellow hue, the odor that of tiolets, and the 

 taste sweetish. If well preserved it will keep several years with- 

 out spoiling, which is known to have taken place by the loss of its 

 golden hue and delightful aroma. 



