326 
Maize  Oil, 
Am.  Jonr.  Pharm. 
July.  1888. 
able  as  a  feed  for  stock,  but  really  were  too  "  rich  "  for  such  pur- 
poses, containing  as  they  did  a  large  amount  of  oil,  the  oil  of  the  corn 
being  almost  altogether  found  in  the  germ.  In  order  to  render  this 
material  more  acceptable  as  a  feed  for  stock  a  company  was  recently 
established  for  the  purpose  of  squeezing  the  fixed  oil  from  the  germs 
and  thus  improving  the  feed  meal.  A  plant  was  established  a  few 
months  ago  (the  only  one  in  existence  now,  I  learn)  in  the  city  of 
Cincinnati  for  this  purpose  and  is  now  in  operation.  The  method  is 
very  simple.  The  germs  are  conveyed  from  the  factories,  wherein 
they  are  a  by-product  (such  as  starch  factories),  and  are  first  purified 
by  separating  from  them  a  considerable  amount  of  bran  or  husk  of 
corn  that  adheres  to  or  is  mixed  with  them.  They  are  then 
steamed  under  pressure  so  as  to  soften  them,  after  which  in  the 
usual  manner,  by  means  of  hydraulic  presses,  the  oil  is  squeezed  from 
them. 
The  process  is  a  very  simple  one  and  it  yields  an  oil  cake,  which 
w^hen  ground  into  meal  is  found  to  be  exceedingly  valuable  as  a  feed 
for  stock,  the  manufacturers  of  this  meal  claiming  that  it  is  superior 
to  corn  meal  that  is  made  from  the  whole  corn. 
Thus  it  is  that  in  addition  to  the  oil  cake,  which  is  the  prime  object 
of  the  industry,  there  is  an  accumulation  of  the  fixed  oil  of  corn  or 
maize  oil,  which  induces  this  paper.  I  accidentally  came  across  this 
oil,  was  led  to  its  examination  and  as  a  result,  found  that  it  is  in  many 
respects  preferable  as  I  believe  to  cotton  seed  oil  that  has  recently 
become  officinal  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  as  a  substitute  for  olive  oil.  I 
have  used  it  in  the  making  of  ammonia  liniment  to  which  purpose 
it  is  particularly  adapted,  and  in  which,  to  my  experience,  cotton  seed 
oil  is  practically  a  failure. 
Oil  of  corn  saponifies  immediately,  forming  with  ammonia  a  smooth 
creamy  emulsion  that  retains  its  nature  apparently  indefinitely,  as 
specimens  that  I  have  in  my  possession  and  which  I  herewith  exhibit, 
are  quite  old  and  are  now  in  their  original  condition.  It  does  not  clot 
and  form  masses  or  curd  like  aggregations,  as  we  sometimes  find  to 
result  with  olive  oil,  in  accordance  with  the  manner  in  which  ammonia 
is  added  to  it,  and  even  if  for  no  other  use  than  the  making  of  ammonia 
liniment  I  think  it  should  become  officinal  for  that  purpose  instead  of 
cotton  seed  oil.  However,  I  doubt  if  there  is  any  preparation  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  that  demands  olive  or  cotton  seed  oil  in  which  it 
cannot  be  used,  and  probably  it  will  be  found  superior  in  all  other 
