PALMITIC  ACID  FROM  THE  MAFURRA  TALLOW. 
168 
ON  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  PALMITIC  ACID  FKOM  THE  MAFURRA 
TALLOW. 
By  MM.  d'Oliveira  Pimentel  and  J.  Bouis. 
The  inhabitants  of  Mozambique  give  the  name  of  Mafurra 
tallow  to  a  fatty  matter,  which  they  extract  by  means  of  hot 
water  from  the  seed  of  a  fruit  which  is  but  little  known  in  Europe* 
The  simple  and  economical  extraction  of  this  vegetable  tallow 
causes  it  to  be  used  in  the  preparation  of  a  common  soap.  The 
almonds  of  Mafurra,  or  probably  Mafutra,  are  covered  by  a  light 
red  envelope,  with  a  black  spot  in  the  middle.  Each  almond 
weighs  about  0-660  grm. ;  the  least  pressure  is  sufficient  to 
detach  the  envelope,  which  weighs  0-187  grm.  ;  so  that  the  de- 
corticated seed  weighs  about  0-473  grm.  The  seeds  are  about 
the  size  of  a  small  cacao-bean  ;  they  are  flat  on  the  inside  and 
convex  externally,  and  they  divide  easily  into  two  parts  in  a  longi- 
tudinal direction. 
Their  taste  is  very  bitter,  and  the  different  products  obtained 
from  them  obstinately  retain  this  bitterness.  The  almond  is 
hard,  and  when  bruised  exhales  the  characteristic  odor  of  cacao  ; 
pressure  only  extracts  a  very  minute  proportion  of  fatty  matter 
from  it,  and  it  is  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  boiling  water  or 
to  solvents  in  order  to  extract  the  whole.  The  employment  of 
ether  or  benzine  has  shown  that  65  per  cent,  of  fatty  matters 
may  be  obtained  from  the  husked  seeds,  and  the  cake,  which  is 
fit  for  manure,  contains  4-3  per  cent,  of  nitrogen. 
With  different  agents  the  seeds  furnish  an  extractive  matter, 
a  very  bitter  substance,  a  product  which  is  strongly  colored  by 
alkalies,  &c.  The  color  of  the  fatty  matter  is  yellowish,  and  its 
odor  is  that  of  oacao-butter ;  it  is  less  fusible  than  tallow,  and 
boiling  alcohol  dissolves  it  in  very  small  quantity.  Hot  ether 
dissolves  it  readily,  and  deposits  it  on  cooling  in  small  stellate 
crystals.  The  alkalies  saponify  it  with  a  very  distinct  brown  color, 
but  the  greater  part  of  the  coloring  matter  is  carried  into  the 
alkaline  solution.  Oxide  of  lead  also  converts  it  into  soap,  and 
the  glycerine  produced  by  this  operation  does  not  exhibit  its 
saccharine  character  until  it  has  been  sufficiently  agitated  with 
ether,  which  removes  the  bitter  matter.  The  fatty  acids  arising 
from  the  decomposition  of  the  alkaline  soaps  are  crystallized, 
