June 15, 1872.] 
1019 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
yellow, depositing stearine, density 0-912. The seeds of 
Ji. latifolia yield by expression a large quantity of con- 
ciete oil, called madooka, which is used in lamps, qnd 
for other purposes. The kernels are easily extracted 
from the smooth chestnut-coloured pericarps, when they 
nre bruised, rubbed, and subjected to a moderate pressure, 
ihe oil concretes immediately it is expressed, and retains 
its consistency at a temperature of 95°. It is used 
locally for the manufacture of soap. It is usually of a 
■greenish-white colour, and has been imported into this 
•country under the name of mohwa oil, from Calcutta. 
From B. butyrace a a pure vegetable oil is produced, 
called choorie and galam butter. The kernels of the 
fruit are bruised, put into a cloth bag with a moderate 
weight laid upon it, and left to stand till the oil is ex¬ 
pressed, which becomes of the consistence of lard, and of 
«, delicate white colour. It is considered a valuable pre¬ 
servative when applied to the hair, mixed with some 
sweet scented oil. It makes excellent soap, and when 
pure burns bright, without smoke or smell. 
• Tj 1 * 6176 are 0ne 0r ^ wo s P ec ^ es Bassia found at Gaboon, 
yielding 56 per cent, of oil. One, B. gabonensis , contains 
a tiue \ogetable fat, of which two varieties are made, 
one called “noungu” by the natives, which has the con¬ 
sistency of goose fat; the other, named “djave,” is only 
■available for the preparation of soap. 
. Borneo concrete .vegetable tallow of commerce, 
judging from the cotyledons of seeds received, would 
.seem to be from one of the Bassias. The fat is made up 
into large, round, flattened cakes, of the consistence and 
colour of cheese, and also cylindrical masses, which have 
.assumed the form of the bamboo sections into which it 
had been poured when in a liquid state. 
The nuts of Coula edulis, in Western Africa, yield 53 
per cent, of an edible oil. The Booma nut of Central 
Africa much resembles an almond, both in shape and 
size, and with the fleshy covering is about the size of a 
walnut. It is probably the fruit of a species of Vitex. 
It furnishes an abundance of sweet bland oil, much used 
•by the natives in their cooking. 
In Jamaica a fine limpid oil is obtained from the 
bread-nut (Omphalea triandia , the 0. nucifera of Swartz) 
but whether it will bear a low degree of temperature 
without congelation has yet to be ascertained. From 
another species an excellent oil is produced in Guiana 
-called ouabe, which is suitable for lubricating machinery! 
Ground-nut oil is an important trade article, and the 
seeds enter largely into commerce. 
The plant which produces the ground-nut (Arachis 
hypogea) is a little annual, one of a class which bury 
their pods in the earth when they ripen, instead of rais¬ 
ing them into the free air. Having buried itself suffi¬ 
ciently deep, the pod then begins to swell, and when 
ripe becomes an oblong, rugged, pale-brown fruit, con- 
taming usually about two seeds, as large as the kernel of 
a hazel nut. It is now found in a state of cultivation 
all over the hottest part of the tropics. It was unknown 
.until the discovery of America, and every region in the 
old world where it is now grown owes it to Brazil; so 
that we have in this plant a further example of the 
rapidity with which vegetables will take possession of 
soils where the climate is suitable, for it is now grown 
very generally in different parts of Africa, in India, the 
West India Islands, and the United States. The gro!md- 
nut the staple product of the Gambia, is principally 
•cultivated down the borders of the river. 
In 1837 the export was but 671 tons, valued at £8000, 
but it has gone on annually increasing, for in 1860 it was 
H^OO tons. The natives have, unfortunately, intro¬ 
duced of late years the pernicious system of beating or 
.thrashing, instead of picking by hand, so that the nuts 
are mixed with leaves, stones, and other extraneous 
.substances, causing large deductions in the French 
market, and also depreciating their value in the United 
States as an article of food, or rather as a favourite re¬ 
past for the tables of the rich. 
In Brazil it is known under the name of “ amcn- 
doum,” and has long been used there parched for food, 
and to extract oil from. This oil is used for cooking, 
medicinally for rheumatic affections, and for lighting. 
The roasted seeds are sometimes used as a substitute 
for chocolate; and, according to Dr. Davy, they abound 
with starch as well as oil, a large proportion of albu¬ 
minous matter, and in no other instance had he found so 
great a quantity of starch mixed with oil. 
Dr. Muter, in an article in a popular periodical this 
month, after giving the following analysis of ground¬ 
nut meal, urges strenuously its more general use as an 
important article of food:— 
Moisture . 9-6 
Fatty matter . 11*8 
Nitrogenous compounds (flesh-formers) .. 31-9 
Sugar, starch, etc. 37‘8 
Fibre. 4*3 
Ash . 4-6 
100-0 
From this analysis it is evident (observes Dr. Muter) 
that the residue from them, after the expression of the 
oil, far exceeds that of peas, and is even richer than len¬ 
tils in flesh-forming constituents, while it contains more 
fat and more phosphoric acid than either of them. On 
these grounds we are justified in urging the adoption of 
the ground-nut meal as a source of food, it being supe¬ 
rior in richness of all important constituents to any 
other vegetable products of a similar nature. Although 
in the raw state it possesses a somewhat harsh odour, 
similar to that of lentils, this flavour entirely passes off' 
in the cooking, and when properly prepared we con¬ 
sider that it has a very agreeable flavour. It has been 
tried in three forms:—First, boiled plain with water, 
like oatmeal porridge, and eaten with milk; second, 
made into a custard, with sugar, milk, and one egg to 
the pint; and third, washed, ground, and taken as a 
beverage, like cocoa. In all these three forms, but 
especially in the two latter, it was exceedingly palatable. 
This seed is held in much estimation in the United 
States, where it is known as the pea-nut. 
There are fully 550,000 bushels sold annually in the 
city of New York alone. Previous to 1860 the pro¬ 
duct of the United States did not amount to more than 
150,000 bushels, and of this total nearly five-sixths were 
from North Carolina. Now North Carolina produces 
125,000 bushels ; Virginia, 300,000 ; Tennessee, 50,000 ; 
Georgia and South Carolina, each 25,000 bushels ; while 
from Africa come about 100,000 bushels a year. In one 
week of the month of January, 1871, there were received 
at the port of New York 2751 bushels. 
Another underground seed, passing under the names 
of rush-nuts, ground pistachio-nuts, chufas, souchet, etc., 
is Cyperus esculentus, the amande de terre of the French. 
They are eaten like nuts, being nutritive, restorative, 
and stimulant, and are also employed in the preparation 
of orgeat, a refreshing drink. The toasted roots have 
been used as a substitute for coffee, and yield a prepara¬ 
tion resembling chocolate. In this country we have an 
earth or pig nut (Bunium denudatum , Dec.),(which, being 
aromatic, sweet, and mucilaginous, might form occasion¬ 
ally an addition to our winter desserts, eaten raw, boiled, 
or roasted. 
Under the name of candle-nuts, some considerable 
quantities of the seeds of species of Aleurites , an euphor- 
biaceous tree, now come into commerce. They are 
known to the French as bancoul-nuts; in the Pacific 
Islands they are called kukune. _ The natives of India 
are fond of the nut, which is said to be palatable, and 
something like our walnuts. It yields, by pressure, an 
oil of a density of *923, which has various uses. It 
forms a good drying oil for painters, for, after boiling, it 
dries in about six hours. It is used tor soap-making at 
Tahiti, in the place of cocoanut oil. It burns without 
