10 BULLETIN 1475, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
coconut oil " is sold by sample, if it should refine at a loss exceeding the loss of 
the sample by not over 5 per cent, but otherwise equal, it is still a good tender 
at a reduced price in proportion to the excess loss. 
BEFINED OIL 
Refined coconut oil. — Refined coconut oil shall not contain free fatty acids 
in excess of one-tenth of 1 per cent, and shall be free from moisture and im- 
purities, and shall not be darker than the combined standard glasses of 30 
yellow and 3 red. If the oil tendered or delivered does not conform to these 
requirements, it may be rejected. 
Refined deodorized coconut oil. — Refined deodorized coconut oil shall be 
free from moisture and impurities, sweet and neutral in flavor and odor, not 
in excess of one-tenth of 1 per cent free fatty acids, and shall not be darker 
than the combined standard glasses of 12 yellow and 2 red. If the oil tendered 
or delivered does not conform to these requirements, it may be rejected. 
Uses 
One of the most important uses for refined coconut oil in the 
United States is in the manufacture of vegetable margarines, some 
of which are called nut margarine (p. 27). 
Coconut olein is used as a cooking oil, and coconut stearin is 
used in making margarine, confectionery, and sweet fillings for 
cookies and wafers. Large quantities of coconut oil, as well as the 
soap stock from refining the edible oil, are used in soap making. 
The press cake from the oil mill is a valuable stock feed. 
Large quantities of coconut shells are now used for the prepara- 
tion of a special product known as activated charcoal. 
PALM-KERNEL OIL 
Palm-kernel oil, similar both chemically and physically to coconut 
oil, is obtained from the palm nut, the hard seed of the fruit of a 
palm (Elceis guineensis and subspecies) which grows wild in western 
Africa and is cultivated in some other tropical regions. 
The Africans crack the nuts with hammers and send the kernels 
to the seaports for shipment to Europe or America. In the United 
States the kernels, which contain from 45 to 50 per cent of oil, are 
crushed and pressed in the same manner as copra (p. 9). In some 
European countries they are extracted with volatile solvents. 
Palm-kernel oil can be used instead of coconut oil in making 
vegetable margarine and other food products as well as soap. 
PALM OIL 
Palm oil is obtained chiefly from the fleshy portion of the fruit of 
the palm (Elceis guineensis and subspecies), the oil content of which 
ranges from 35 to 60 per cent, depending upon the species of the tree 
and the place where it grows. 
Most of this oil is still made by the crude and primitive process 
that has been in use for centuries. Attempts to introduce modern 
methods and equipment into the African palm regions have not been 
successful. However, improved methods will soon go into effect in 
Java, where large plantings are beginning to bear fruit. As the hard 
fruit must be softened before the kernels can be removed, the Afri- 
cans put the freshly picked fruits in leaf-lined holes in the ground, 
moisten them, cover them with leaves, and let them stand for two 
