OIL or BEIf. 



523 



nortli-eastern parts of Bengal, and C. BoxhurgMi^ jioidi a purgative 

 oil. The bark of G. JEleuteria, C. Cascarilla, and other species 

 is aromatic, and acts as a tonic and stimulant. It forms the 

 cascarilla bark of commerce abeady spoken of. When bruised, it 

 gives out a musky odor and is often used in pastilles. 



The oil obtained from the seeds of Jatropha curcas, a native of 

 South America and Asia, is purgative and emetic, and analagous 

 in its properties to croton oil. It is said to be a valuable ex- 

 ternal application in itch. In India it is used for lamps. 



OiTi or Bei!?, known as Sohrinja in Bengal, and Muringo in 

 Malabar is obtained from the seeds or nuts of the horse-radish 

 tree, Moringa 'pterygosperma, Burmann ; the Syperanthera 

 Moringa, of Linnaeus. This clear limpid oil having no percep- 

 tible smell, is much esteemed by watchmakers and perfumers ; it 

 is expensive and not often to be procured pure, consequently the 

 oil would be a very profitable export, it grows rapidly and 

 luxuriantly everywhere in Jamaica, particularly on the north side 

 of the island— as well as Trinidad and other quarters of the West. 

 It is easily propagated either by cuttnigs from the tree (the 

 branches) or by seeds, aud bears the second year. The pro- 

 duce of each tree may be estimated at from one to two gallons. 

 From the flowers a very pleasant perfume might be easily distilled. 



The following account I derive from my friend Dr. Hamilton — 



*' It is a small tree, of about twenty feet in height, of most rapid growth, 

 coming into flower within a few months after it has been sown, and continuing 

 to produce seeds and blossoms afterwards throughout the year. The tree is now 

 naturalised in the West Indies. The timber is said to dye a fine blue, and the 

 gum, which exudes from wounds in the bark, bears a strong resemblance to that 

 obtained from the Astragalus tragacantha, for which it might, no doubt, be 

 substituted. 



The numerous racemes of white blossoms with which the tree is constantly 

 loaded, are succeeded by long triangular pods, somewhat tourlose at the ends, 

 and about two feet in length, when arrived at the full growth. These pods, 

 while yet young and tender, are not unfrequently cooked and served up at the 

 planter's tables like aspaiagus, for which they are not a bad substitute. The 

 pods, when full grown, contain about fifteen seeds ; each considerably larger 

 than a pea, with a membraneous covering expanding into three wings, whence 

 the specific name oi pterygosperma. On removing the winged envelope the seeds 

 appear somewhat like pith balls ; but upon dividing them with the nail, they 

 are found to abound in a clear, colorless, tasteless, scentless oil, of which the 

 proportion is so large that it may be expressed from good fresh seeds by the 

 simple pressure of the nail. Geofi'ry informs us, that he obtained 30^ ounces of 

 oil from eight pounds of the decorticated seeds, being at the rate of very nearly 

 24 lbs. of oil from 100 lbs. of seed. 



Notwithstanding the great value of its oil, and the facility with which it can 

 be obtained in the West Indies, the moringa has been hitherto valued merely as 

 an ornamental shrub, and cultivated for the sake of its young pods or the horse- 

 radish of its roots, as luxuries for the table. 



The oil is peculiarly valuable for the formation of ointments, from its capa- 

 bility of being kept for almost any length of time without entering into com- 

 bination with oxygen. This property, together with the total absence of color, 

 smell, and taste, peculiarly adapts it to the purposes of the perfumer, who is 

 able to make it the medium for arresting the flight of those highly volatile 

 particles of essential oil, which constitute the aroma of many of the most odor- 

 iferous flowers, and cannot be obtained by any other means, in a concentrated 

 and permanent form. To efiect this, the petals of the flowers, whose odor it is 



