Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume Ii Part 77

=Oil of Ben.= _Syn._ OIL OF BEHEN; OLEUM BALATINUM. From the seeds of _Moringa pterygosperma_ (ben nuts). Scentless, colourless; keeps long without growing rank; by standing, it separates into two parts, one of which freezes with difficulty, and is hence much used in perfumery.

=Oil of Benne Seed.= See OIL OF GINGELLY.

=Oil of Brazil-nuts.= _Syn._ OLEUM BERTHOLLETIae. From the kernels of the fruit of _Bertholletia excelsa_, or Brazil-nuts. An oil of a bright amber colour, congealing at 24 Fahr. Sp. gr. 917. It has been used as a subst.i.tute for olive oil in plasters and ointments.

=Oil of Caca'o.= _Syn._ b.u.t.tER OF C.; OLEUM CACAO CONCRETUM, BUTYRUM CACAO, L. From the seeds of _Theobroma Cacao_, or chocolate nuts, gently heated over the fire, and then decorticated, and pressed between hot iron plates. Sp. gr. 892.

Column headings:

A. Name of Oil.

B. Specific Gravity at 15C., Water = 1,000.

C. Combustibility. Grms. consumed per hour in a Lamp with Wick.

D. Freezing Point in degrees Centigrade.

E. Colour.

F. Taste.

G. Smell.

H. Limpidity. Time (in seconds) required to trickle a given distance.

I. Drying Power.

+-------------+------+----+------+-------------+-------------+------------+------+-------------+ A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. +-------------+------+----+------+-------------+-------------+------------+------+-------------+ Plum kernel 09127 68 -9 Brownish Amygdalaceous Very slight 93 Non-drying. yellow Rape seed 09128 30 -4 Yellow Nauseous Nauseous 159 Non-drying. Colza 09136 40 -925 Yellow Nauseous Nauseous 162 Non-drying. Cabbage seed 09139 485 -8 Yellow Nauseous Nauseous 148 Non-drying. White mustard 09142 298 -1625 Light Pleasant Very slight 157 Non-drying. yellow Ground nut 09163 ? -3 Pale greenish Like peas Like peas Not Non-drying. yellow tested Black mustard 09170 25 -175 Yellow Pleasant Very slight 141 Non-drying. Olive 09176 62 -6[54] Yellow Sweet Peculiar 195 Non-drying. Sweet almond 09180 528 -215 Amber Agreeable None 150 Non-drying. Horse-radish seed 09187 43 -1625 Yellowish Pleasant None 143 Non-drying. brown Grape seed 09202 37 -1625 Gold yellow Sweet None 99 Dries slowly. Beech nut 09225 50 -175 Amber Very sweet None 158 Non-drying. Pumpkin 09231 43 -15 Pale brown Sweet None 185 Dries slowly. yellow Land-cress 09240 42 -15 Brownish Acrid Disagreeable 103 Dries slowly. yellow Hazel nut 09242 534 -10 Amber Sweet None 166 Non-drying. Poppy 09243 31 -18[55] Pale yellow Flat None 123 Drying. Camelina 09252 34 -18 Yellowish Peculiar Peculiar 119 Drying. Walnut 09260 45 -275 Light yellow Flat None 88 Drying. Sunflower 09262 518 -16 Colourless Sweet None 114 Dries slowly. Hemp seed 09276 46 -275 Dark greenish Disagreeable Disagreeable 87 Drying. yellow Cotton seed 09316 ? -25 Reddish brown Strong None Not tested Drying. Sesame 09320 ? -5 Bright yellow Pleasant, None Not Non-drying. slightly tested piquant Linseed 09347 38 -27 Dark greenish Strong Disagreeable 88 Drying. yellow Wood 09358 44 Not Green Unpleasant None 73 Drying. noted Spindle 09360 61 -20 Reddish brown Acrid Slight 143 Non-drying. Castor 09611 47 -18 Colourless Sickly Very slight 1,830 Dries slowly. +-------------+------+----+------+-------------+-------------+------------+------+-------------+

[Footnote 54: Though these oils do not become quite solid till the point indicated is reached, yet they begin to become grainy at +4 C.]

[Footnote 55: Once solidified, this oil does not liquify until the temperature reaches 2C.]

TABLE _giving the reactions of various_ OILS _with_ SULPHURIC ACID _and with a saturated solution of_ BICHROMATE OF POTASH _in sulphuric acid_.

Re-arranged from M. PENOT's table, with additions, by Mr COOLEY.

? _The result indicated is obtained in each case by the action of_ one drop _of the_ REAGENT _on_ twenty drops of OIL.

---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+ REAGENTS +--------------------------------------------------------+ Saturated Solution of NAME OF OIL Sulphuric Acid Bichromate of Pota.s.sa in Sulphuric Acid +------------------+-------------+-----------------------+ _Not stirred_ _Stirred_ _Stirred_ ---------------------+------------------+-------------+-----------------------+ Almond oil Greenfinch yellow, Dirty green Yellowish, small lumps with orange spots Castor oil Yellow, with Little Slightly green slight spots reaction Cod-liver oil Deep purple in Deep purple, Reddish-brown clots, (_fine sample the centre, pa.s.sing into changing to a clear of pale oil_) rapidly turning purple brown, bright green brown, whilst reddish violet or purple brown, and clouds or streaks gradually spread out towards deepening to the circ.u.mference, an intense the colour of brown, which remains approaching minutes after the black central portion turned nearly black Hemp-seed oil Small brown lumps Greenish Small yellow lumps or or clots on a brown clots on a green yellow ground ground Linseed oil (_from the Upper Rhine_) Dark reddish brown Brown small Brown small lumps on lumps on a an almost colourless grey ground ground (_from Paris_) Reddish brown, Brown clots Brown small lumps on a less dark coloured on a green green ground ground (_English_) Chestnut brown Brown clots Brown lumps on a on a greenish-grey ground greenish-grey ground Liver-train oil Dark red Dark red Dark red Madia-sativa oil Slightly reddish Olive green Light brown small lumps brown underneath on an olive-coloured a thin greyish ground film Black-mustard oil Bluish green Olive green Olive brown Neat's-foot oil Yellow slight Dirty brown Brown spots on a spots brownish ground Nut oil (_recent_) Yellowish brown Clotted, dark Small brown lumps or brown clots (_one year old_) Yellow Dirty brown, Small brown lumps less dark coloured (_still older_) Orange yellow Dirty brown Small brownish lumps Olein, oleic acid, lard, or tallow oil Reddish spots, Reddish brown Bright chestnut colour with reddish circles Olive oil Yellow Dirty brown Olive brown (_another sample_) Orange yellow Brownish grey Brown (_from fermented olives_) Orange yellow Brownish grey Brown Poppy oil (_recent cold drawn_) Yellow spots Olive brown Small yellow lumps on a white ground (_recent_ expressed with slight heat) Greenish-yellow Olive brown, Small yellow lumps on a spots turning more greenish-grey ground on the green (_one year old, expressed with heat_) Greenish spots Olive green Small yellow lumps on a green ground Rape or colza oil (_trade_) Yellowish-brown Brownish, Yellow small lumps on a streaks surrounded turning on green ground by a bluish-green the olive ring green (_recent_) Green Bluish green Yellow small lumps on a green ground (_one year old_) Green Bluish green Yellow lumps on a brighter green ground (_one year old, rough hot-pressed_) Green Olive green Small yellow lumps, more numerous, on an olive-green ground Whale-train oil Small reddish Resembles Small, bright, lumps on a wine lees chestnut-coloured lumps brownish ground on a brown ground -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=Oil, Cas'tor.= _Syn._ RICINI OLEUM (B. P.), OLEUM CASTOREI, O. RICINI (Ph. L., E., & D.), L. "The oil prepared by heat, or by pressure, from the seed" of "_Ricinis communis_, Linn." (Ph. L.), the _Palma Christi_, or Mexican oil-bush.

The best castor oil (COLD-DRAWN CASTOR OIL; OLEUM RICINI SINE IGNE)is prepared by pressing the sh.e.l.led and crushed fruit (seed) in hemp bags, in an hydraulic press, and heating the oil thus obtained along with water in well tinned vessels, until the water boils and the alb.u.men and gum separate as a sc.u.m; this is carefully removed, and the oil as soon as it has become cold is filtered through Canton flannel, and put into canisters. The commoner kinds are prepared by gently heating the crushed seeds, and pressing them whilst hot. Another method, sometimes adopted, is to put the crushed seed into loose bags, to boil these in water, and to skim off the floating oil.

_Prop._ It is the most viscid of all the fixed oils; when pure it mixes in all proportions with alcohol and ether, and also dissolves, to a certain extent, in rectified spirit, but a portion of the oil separates on standing. Camphor and benzoic acid increase its solubility in spirit. By long exposure to the air it becomes rancid, thick, and is ultimately transformed into a transparent yellow ma.s.s; light hastens these changes.

Exposed to cold, a solid, white crystalline fat separates from the liquid portion, and when cooled to 0 it congeals into a yellow transparent ma.s.s, which does not again liquefy until the temperature rises to about 18 Fahr. Sp. gr. 9611 to 9612, at 60; 9690, at 55 (Saussure); 9575, at 77 (Saussure). _Prod._ 38% to 40% (62%--Ure).

_Pur._ Castor oil is sometimes adulterated with rape oil or with lard oil, a fraud which may be detected by its diminished density; and, when the added oil exceeds 33%, by its insolubility in its own weight of alcohol of 820. In many cases croton oil is added to increase the purgative quality of the mixture. A compound of this kind is vended in gelatine capsules under the name of 'CONCENTRATED CASTOR OIL,' the use of which is fraught with danger. "I have heard of several cases in which very violent and dangerous effects were produced by these capsules." (Pereira.) The best is imported from the East Indies in tin canisters. The oil obtained from the seeds of _Ricinus viridis_ (Willd.), or lamp-oil seeds, is often mixed with or sold for castor oil.

_Uses, &c._ Castor oil is an exceedingly useful mild purgative, particularly when abdominal irritation should be avoided, as in inflammations of the stomach and bowels, pregnancy, surgical operations, &c.--_Dose_, 2 fl. dr. to 1 fl. oz.

=Oil, Cocoa-nut.= _Syn._ COCOA-NUT b.u.t.tER; OLEUM COCOIS NUCIFERae, L. By expression from the kernels of the cocoa nut, or fruit of the _Cocos nucifera_.

=Oil, Cod-liver.= _Syn._ MORRHUae OLEUM (B. P.), COD-FISH OIL; OLEUM JECORIS ASELLI, O. GADI, O. G. MORRHUae, OLEUM MORRHUae (Ph. L.), L. "The oil extracted from the fresh liver of the _Gadus morrhua_ by a steam heat or water bath not exceeding 180 Fahr. Yellow." "The oil prepared from the liver of _Gadus morrhua_, Linn." (Ph. L.)

The common cod-liver oil of commerce drains from the livers of the cod-fish when freely exposed to the sun, and just beginning to putrefy. It is dark coloured, strong, and nauseous, and is now chiefly employed in this country by the curriers, for dressing leather. It is the 'OLEUM JECORIS ASELLI FUSc.u.m' of Continental writers. Formerly, the less fetid varieties of this crude oil, after the impurities were removed, either by subsidence or filtration, const.i.tuted the only cod-liver oil used in medicine. As its employment as a remedy increased, its revolting flavour, and its great tendency to permanently disorder the stomach and bowels, was found, however, to be a serious obstacle to its general use. It was observed that the oil as it exists in the liver of the cod is bland and nearly colourless, and has only a slight fishy, but not a disagreeable flavour. The attention of persons interested was therefore immediately directed to the subject, and improved methods of obtaining the oil were suggested, and ere long adopted on the large scale.

The methods of preparing cod-liver oil are noticed in another part of this work, but we think it advisable to add to these a description of the plan adopted by Messrs Charles Fox and Co., of Newfoundland, Scarborough, and London, the well-known manufacturers and importers of cod-liver oil:--

"The Newfoundland fisheries are entirely carried on in small boats, princ.i.p.ally by the hand-line system, and quite close to the sh.o.r.e. The boats go out early in the morning, and return about four o'clock in the afternoon. The fish, on landing, are handed over to a 'fish-room keeper,'

whose duty it is to split and open the fish, and to deposit the livers in small tubs holding 17 or 18 gallons each. The tubs are soon afterwards collected from the different 'fish-rooms,' and conveyed to the manufactory. The livers are here thrown into tubs filled with clean cold water, and, after being well washed and jerked over, are placed on galvanised iron-wire sieves to drain. They are next put into covered steam-jacket-pans, and submitted to a gentle heat for about three quarters of an hour, after which the steam is turned off, cold air again admitted, and the whole allowed to repose for a short time, during which the livers subside, and the oil separates and floats on the top. The oil is then skimmed off into tin vessels, and pa.s.sed through flannel strainers into tubs, where it is left to subside for about 24 hours. From these the purer upper portion of oil is run into a very deep, galvanized-iron cistern, and again left to clarify itself by defecation for a few days. It is now further refined by carefully pa.s.sing it through clean and very stout mole-skin filters, under pressure. The transparent filtered oil is received in a clean, galvanised-iron cistern containing a pump, from which the casks are filled for exportation. The latter, before being filled, are carefully seasoned and cleaned, to prevent their imparting either flavour or colour to the pure oil."

The superiority of the oil prepared as above consists essentially in every part of the process of extraction being performed whilst the livers are fresh, and in no chemical means being adopted to give the oil a fact.i.tious appearance. Its natural pale colour is thus preserved from contamination, and its medicinal virtues maintained intact.

Much of the light brown oil of commerce is obtained from _Gadus callarius_ (the dorse). _G. carbonarius_ (the coal-fish), and _G. pollachius_ (the pollack).

_Pur., &c._ "The finest oil," remarks Dr Pereira, "is that which is most devoid of colour, odour, and flavour. The oil, as contained in the cells of the fresh liver, is nearly colourless, and the brownish colour possessed by ordinary cod-liver oil is due to colouring matters derived from the decomposition (putrefying) of hepatic tissues and fluids, or from the action of the air on the oil (age). Chemical a.n.a.lysis lends no support to the opinion, at one time entertained, that the brown oil was superior, as a therapeutic agent, to the pale oil. Chemistry has not discovered any substance in the brown oil that would confer on it superior activity as a medicine. On the other hand, the disgusting odour and flavour and nauseating qualities of the brown oil preclude its repeated use. Moreover, there is reason to suspect that, if patients could conquer their aversion to it, its free use, like that of other rancid and empyreumatic fats, would disturb the digestive functions, and be attended with injurious effects."[56]

[Footnote 56: 'Elem. Mat. Med.,' &c., 3rd edit., iii, 2339.]

Among the tests of purity, that generally relied on is known as the 'sulphuric acid test.' See OILS (Fixed): _Purity_.

DORSE OIL, and other FISH OIL, sold as 'LIGHT-BROWN COD-LIVER OIL,'

exhibit with this test much lighter reactions, which closely resemble those of LIVER-TRAIN and WHALE-TRAIN OIL.

To detect the presence of combined iodine, upon which, by some, the therapeutic value of cod-liver oil is thought to depend, the sample is saponified by trituration with a little caustic pota.s.sa and hot water, the resulting soap cautiously incinerated, the ashes digested with water, and the whole thrown on a filter. The usual tests for iodine may be then applied to the filtered liquid.

The presence of iodine artificially added is best detected by agitating the oil with a little rectified spirit, and then testing this last for iodine. Or, a little solution of starch and a few drops of sulphuric or nitric acid may be at once added to the oil, when a blue colour will be developed if iodine, or an iodide, has been mixed with the sample.

The sp. gr. of the pale oil is 9230 to 9238; of the light-brown oil, 9240 to 9245; of the dark-brown oil, 9290 to 9315. The density is, however, apt to vary a little with the quant.i.ty of moisture present.

_Uses, &c._ Cod-liver oil is a most valuable medicine in a great variety of diseases, more especially in glandular indurations and enlargements, scrofula, phthisis, rheumatism, gout, certain cutaneous diseases, amenorrha, chlorosis, caries, rickets, &c. To be of service, however, its use must be continued for several weeks, and the oil must be recent.--_Dose_, 1 to 2 table-spoonfuls, 3 or 4 times daily, or oftener.

=Oil, Col'za.= From the seeds of _Bra.s.sica campestris_, var. _oleifera_, or _colza de printemps_, a variety of _Bra.s.sica campestris_ (Linn.). It may be regarded as a superior sort of rape oil. Burns well in lamps, especially after being refined. Sp. gr. 9136. _Prod._ 39%. The term 'colza oil' is commonly applied to ordinary refined rape.

=Oil, Cottonseed.= _Syn._ OLEUM GOSSIPII SEMINUM, L. From the seeds of _Gossypium Barbadense_. Drying.

=Oil, Croton.= _Syn._ CROTONIS OLEUM (B. P.), OLEUM CROTONIS (Ph. E.), O.

TIGLII (Ph. L.), L. From the sh.e.l.led seeds of _Croton tiglium_ or Molucca grains. Imported chiefly from the East Indies. It is one of the most powerful cathartics known, and acts when either swallowed or merely placed in the mouth. Externally, it is a rubefacient and counter-irritant, often causing a crop of painful pustules, like tartar emetic.--_Dose_, 1 to 2 drops, on sugar; in apoplexy, &c. It is poisonous in larger doses. Sp. gr.

947 to 953. _Prod._ Unsh.e.l.led seeds, 22% to 25%; sh.e.l.led do., 32% to 35%.

Pure croton oil is soluble in an equal volume of alcohol of 796, but in 2 or 3 days about 96% of the oil separates. In France the marc is exhausted with alcohol, and the oil thus obtained is added to that previously obtained from the same seeds by expression. The East Indian oil (OLEUM CROTONIS EXOTIc.u.m) is usually of a pale yellow; that pressed in England (O. CROTONIS ANGLICANUM) is much darker.

=Oil of Cu'c.u.mber.= _Syn._ OLEUM CUCURBITae, L. From the seeds of _Cucurbita pepo_ or squash, and the _C. melopepo_ or pumpkin. Pale; used in lamps; and, sometimes, as a soothing application to piles. Sp. gr.

9231. _Prod._ 24%.

=Oil of Eggs.= _Syn._ OLEUM OVI, O. O. VITELLI, O. OVORUM, L. From the yolks of eggs, gently heated until they coagulate and the moisture has evaporated, and then pressed or broken up, digested in boiling rectified spirit, the tincture filtered whilst hot, and the spirit distilled off.

Bland; emollient. The common plan is to fry the yolks hard; but the oil is then darker coloured and stronger. The P. Cod. orders them to be exhausted with ether, by displacement. Formerly commonly used to 'kill' quicksilver, and still held in great esteem in some parts of England for sore nipples and excoriations. _Prod._ 10 to 12 eggs yield 1 oz. See MIXED OILS.

=Oil of Garden Cress.= _Syn._ OLEUM LEPIDII SATIVI, L. From the seed.

Drying. Sp. gr. 9240. _Prod._ 54%.

=Oil of Gar'den Spurge.= _Syn._ OLEUM LATHYRIS, O. EUPHORBIae L., L. From the seeds of _Euphorbia lathyris_ or garden spurge. Cathartic.--_Dose_, 3 to 8 drops. Sp. gr. 9281. _Prod._ 30% to 41%. Croton oil mixed with 6 times its weight of nut or rape oil is usually sold for it.

=Oil of Gingel'ly.= _Syn._ OIL OF SESAMUM, BENNE OIL, TEEL O., TEL O.; OLEUM SESAMI, L. From the seeds of _Sesamum orientale_ (Willd.), or gingelly. Pale; bland. Used in salads, paints, &c.; also to adulterate oil of almonds. _Prod._ 46%.