KUKUI,  OR  KEKUNE  OIL. 
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belongs  to  the  natural  order  Euphorbiaceae,  and  is  plentiful 
in  the  Sandwich,  Society,  and  other  groups  of  islands  in  the 
Southern  Seas.  It  is  also  to  be  met  with  in  some  parts  of 
Jamaica  and  the  East  Indies.  The  oil  has  been  for  some  time 
known  in  Jamacia  as  Spanish  walnut  oil,  and  in  India  as  Belgaum 
•walnut  oil.  In  Ceylon  the  oil  is  called  kehune  oil,  and  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands  kuJcui  oil.  The  tree  is  known  in  some  parts 
of  Polynesia  as  the  candle  nut  tree.  The  fruits  are  nearly  as 
large  as  a  walnut,  and  the  kernel  is  inclosed  in  a  thick  hard 
shell.  These  nuts  are  often  strung  together  by  the  natives,  and 
burnt,  without  any  other  preparation,  as  torches.  In  the  history 
of  the  Mutiny  of  the  Bounty,  it  is  stated  that  the  rooms  in 
Pitcairn's  Island  were  lighted  up  by  torches  made  of  "  doodoe" 
nuts,  strung  upon  the  fibres  of  the  palm-leaf,  forming  a  good 
substitute  for  candles.  These  nuts  are  also  so  strung  and  used  by 
the  San  Bias  Indians  in.  Central  America,  and  a  child  is  in 
attendance  to  knock  off  each  nut  as  it  becomes  burnt  out. 
The  following  is  the  method  adopted  in  obtaining  the  oil  in 
Jamaica.  Each  nut  is  carefully  cracked  or  broken,  and  the 
kernel  as  carefully  separated  from  the  hard  shell,  lest  the  latter, 
having  a  brown  dye  quality,  should  affect  the  color  of  the  oil. 
The  kernel  is  then  put  into  a  large  mortar  and  pounded  as  fine 
as  possible.  It  is  afterwards  thrown  into  a  caldron  with  plenty 
of  water  and  boiled.  It  is  allowed  to  simmer  for  hours,  until  all 
the  oil  is  well  extracted  and  floats  on  the  surface.  Meanwhile, 
and  until  all  is  gathered  together,  the  oil  is  skimmed  off  into 
another  clean  vessel.  The  oil  thus  collected  is  then  boiled  over 
again  in  a  smaller  vessel  for  a  short  time,  in  order  to  throw  off 
any  aqueous  particles  remaining  after  the  first  skimming.  If  the 
oil  is  not  then  perfectly  pellucid  it  is  run  through  blotting  paper. 
Eight  quarts  of  kernels  will  yield  about  three  pints  of  oil.  The 
yearly  produce  of  this  oil  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  is  about 
10,000  gallons.  It  has  been  shipped  to  the  markets  of  Chili, 
New  South  Wales,  and  London,  but  hitherto  without  much  profit. 
It  realized  about  £20  per  imperial  ton  in  London.  In  1843, 
about  8620  gallons  were  shipped  from  Honolulu,  valued  at  Is. 
8c?.  per  gallon. 
This  oil  has  been  used  as  an  artist's  oil,  for  which  purpose  it 
is  said  to  possess  valuable  qualities,  although  it  cannot  be  ap- 
