American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  491 
Oil  from 
Virginia 
Nuts. 
Oil  from 
Spanish 
Nuts. 
Oil  from 
African 
Nuts. 
Oil  from 
Puducheri. 
Commer- 
cial Oil. 
0-917 
0-9175 
0:9.11 
0-920 
0*9209 
i92'53 
■  190-68 
194- 
I93*i 
192-1 
9175 
94'i7 
<     85-6  ' 
95' 
98-4 
Hehner  value         .  .... 
(Percentage  of  insoluble  acids) 
94  87 
95  '31 
—  ' 
— 
95-86 
o'484 
i"6p 
— 
— 
- 
Percentage  of  free  acid  as  oleic  . 
0-546 
0-791 
0-62 
6-20 
+  3°  C. 
+  3°C. 
+  2°  C. 
+  io°  C. 
5675°  c. 
49°  C. 
45  5°  C. 
Melting  point  of  fatty  acids  .  . 
29°  C. 
34°  C. 
300  c. 
29°  C. 
28°  C. 
Solidifying  point  of  fatty  acids  . 
27-5°C. 
32-5°  c. 
29°  C. 
25°  C. 
25°  C:  ' 
He  also  said  the  production  of  peanut  oil  in  this  country  has  hitherto  been, 
unless  secretly,  only  carried  on  in  a  desultory  way,  and  it  has  not  been  much 
known  as  a  commercial  article.  However,  as  the  chemical  composition  of  the 
peanut  has  become  better  known,  attention  has  been  drawn  to  the  food  value 
of  the  peanut  meal  and  the  peanut  grits.  It  has  been  found  that  they  are 
richer  in  nitrogenous  principles  than  any  of  the  vegetable  seed  cakes,  and  a 
demand  has  sprung  up  for  them.  So  the  expression  of  the  oil  has  now  been 
undertaken  on  a  larger  scale  and  with  more  suitably  designed  presses. 
The  sample  which  was  shown  was  cold-pressed  oil  from  Virginia  peanuts, 
and  about  38  per  cent,  by  weight  is  obtained  in  the  first  cold-pressing.  By  a 
second  hot-pressing  nearly  10  per  cent,  more  can  be  obtained.  The  cold- 
pressed  oil  is,  as  seen,  of  a  pale  yellow  color,  and  of  pleasant  flavor  and  odor.  A 
very  slight  refining  makes  from  it  a  very  agreeable  table  oil  for  salads  and  general 
culinary  purposes.  It  has  already  been  noted  with  the  European  peanut  oil 
(and  the  author  said  he  could  confirm  it  from  his  experiments  with  the  Amer- 
ican oil)  that,  when  once  freed  from  the  free  acid  found  in  the  raw  state,  it 
does  not  tend  to  become  rancid  as  easily  as  olive  oil.  The  author  said  he  had 
exposed  samples  to  strong  sunlight  for  weeks  without  developing  the  slightest 
rancidity. 
Now,  asked  the  author,  as  this  is  an  abundant  American  product  (the  annual 
product  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  peanuts  is  over  two  million  bushels), 
why  should  the  oil  not  be  used  in  pharmacy  where  olive  oil  is  now  used  ?  The 
investigator  had  prepared,  in  an  experimental  way,  a  soda  soap  from  this  oil,  a 
sample  of  which  was  shown,  and  a  sample  of  lead  plaster  from  the  same. 
With  this  latter  for  comparison  was  put  lead  plaster,  made  from  a  sample  of 
pure  California  olive  oil.  He  thought  these  showed  that  the  peanut  oil  will 
make  at  least  as  good  products  as  the  official  olive  oil. 
As  regards  the  soap,  it  is  an  open  secret  that  the  bulk  of  the  castile  soap 
made  in  Marseilles  to-day  is  made  from  African  peanut  oil. 
The  author  said,  in  conclusion,  that  when  he  asked  permission  of  the  com- 
pany, who  are  now  starting  in  to  manufacture  this  oil  in  this  country,  to 
