Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-07-21

The Oil Palm Tree.

Of the multitudinous species of the
Palm Family, the products Of few only
have found their way into American and
European commerce, the most valued be-
ing those of the Cocoanut, the Date and
the Oil Palms. OF these the appearance
OF the last is the least familiar to most per-
sons as unlike the others, it has neve,
hitherto been accurately pictured in scien-
tine and popular works. In Western
Tropical Africa there are vast regions
thlckly covered with the members of this
species, and it is rom this torrid region,
especially from the River Bonny, that the
largest quantities of palm oil find their
way into the the American markets The
trade with the natives is carried on chiefly
by barter, glass beads of various forms,
sizes, and colors being among the principal
articles of exchange. The trunk of the
tree from which palm oil Is obtained is sell
dom over thirty feet high, and is sdrmount-
ed with tuft of long pinnate leaves garn-
ished with prlckly peticles. The flowers
are dioecious, and borne in dense heads,
sometimes two feet long and two or more
feet in circumference. In these closely
crowded spadices the fruit is so compactly
clustered that the punches bear strong re-
semblance to large pine-apples. The indie
! vidual fruits are about an inch and a half
long, somewhat pear-shaped and when fully
ripe Of bright orange color. They con-
sist of an outer soft, pulpy substance from
which the best oil is obtained, inside which,
forming about one-fourth of the whole, Is a
very hard, stony shell ircloSing the seeds,
and yielding when caushed, a clear, lmpld
product called palm-nut oil. The fruit
when sufficiently ripe, are gathered by men,
boiled in large earthenware pots by women,
and then crushed in mortars. They are
next placed in large clay watts filled with
water, and women tread out the oil which
rises to the surface and is SKINNED off. 1t
! is then OLce more boiled TO get rid Of the
water, and packed away in barrels OF casks
for expectation. 1t still retains the color
| ing matter of the fruit, whichis removed by
subsequent processes in numerous factories
in Europe, either by bleaching in shallow
pans on the surface of hot water or by vari-
Ious chemical methods of treatment. As
each drupe affords only about one-sixteenth
of an ounce Of pure oil and each tree only
three or four pounds, an immense amount
of labor is required TO procure the product
snd = vast area of forest is annually destroy
cd 10 supply the demands of commerce,
Good palm oil is fatty substance of the
consistency of butter, of rich orange color,
/ a sweetish taste, and an oder like that of
violets or orris root. Is is now extensively
used in the manufacture of candles, soap,
and also Cs an axle grease, chiefly for the
wheels of railroad cars. AT 4 temperature
/ of from IS degrees TO 95 degrees T. it
melts to a very thin fluid, and the older 1t
| is, the greater the heat required to liquify
if. BY age and exposure it becomes rancid
and assumes q whitish tinge. 1t is per-
fectly soluble in ether, slightly SO in cold
alcohol, but readily dissolves inhot alcohol.
| though on cooling it solidities- 1t consists
4 of margerine, oleine, and solid fat like
stearine, which is called palmatine, and
constitutes two-thirds of its weight. Palm
I oil is used more extensively for the manu-
| facture Of candles than for any other pur-
pose ana the process, though somewhat
| lengthy, is highly interesting. Having been
melted by a jet of steam introduced into
the casks, and freed from all impurities, it
is mixed with from one-seventh to one
sixth of IFS weight of sulphuric acid and
briskly agitated for about two hours in
which steam maintains a temperature of
about $50 degrees. The sulphuric acid and
the glycerine, which is an ingredient of Its
component fats, are in this way decom-
posed and escape partly by subsequent
washing. The impure acids are then distil-
led in copper stills steaR-heated to a temp
erature of 600 degrees. The dark residue
in the boilers is made to yield still more
oil by heavy pressure and the black refuse
| that remains is used for fuel. When cool
ed, the distilled fat Is broken into cakes
eighteen inches long and about an inch
and three-quarters thick. These are spread
upon squares of cocoa-nut matting and are
then piled on top of each other and submit
ted to hydraulic pressure at temperature
of seventy-five degrees. The fat obtained
may be run at once into candles for the
European and American markets, but for
tropical use, it is again submitted 10 pres
sure at temperasure of l20 degrees.