The sun., 1886-12-05
OILS OF RARE QUALITIES.
4 xxRcnsxrs CURIOUS COLLECTION.

Il
| hs Weighs "a 0.sA-sea C.w Os.
| 81 suppose that am confirmed crank on
the subject OF ola" said the head Of big
leather houee In the Swamp district. Tor will
60 further. and. celieve. pay bigger prlco for
| q specimen OF grease extracted from some
| rare. eurious. or unexpected animal. bird. fish.
insect. reptile. fruit mineral. or wood than
| sane mon would to secure valuable works oi
art. coins. jewels. Or relics OF any kind.
Now here Is some oil. for instance. that
| obtained In Central America" said the leather
merchant. taking from cabinet q four-ounce
| vial containing rich. bright yellow liquid. Il
made . journey to that country on purpose to
see how this oil was made. doubt whether
there Is another drop OF It in the United States.
and never found but one man in the oil trade
who had ever heard oft coud prepare that
| Oil so that II the thinnost kind OF coat OF II
| were spread ON the coarsest cloth It would
| make the cloth as impervous to water As the
| best piece OF India-rubber. 1t would not
only be entirely and completely waterproof.
| but the coating could not 10 removed
by the most powerful solvents OF oil.
this oil defying them all. This golden
| grease Is tho expressed oil Of An insect about
| the siae OF our common rose-buH. and so laden
| Ia this insect with oil that tho number from
which my specimen hero was taken weighed
IetsS IMAM Oue-lNiTU mOTO tnau tu0 tluulu
pressed from them. Tho insect is calod tho
min by the natives. but naturalists class 1t ns
coccis odipuJerd. 1t feeds on the sap OF a Curl
| GUS resinous plant. and SO important is the oil
in the local trade OF Central America that tho
plunt on which the iasect feetis IL extensively
cultivated. the nbu niance OF the insect peing
only limited By the prevalence OF Its nurturng
food. Tho cultivation OF the plant is made
easy by the fact that cutting from
any part OF plant inserted in the
soil. no matter where. at once takes root and
grows rapidly to maturity. The growth IL at
once followed by the appearance OF the nIn.
and during the insects nr-e ding season every
plant. no matter BOW closely they may be grow. row.
its parasite. th- bugs alh"rinH as thickiy as
| sand scattered upon freshly painted post.
The nuns cling 10 the plant ty u long beak.
which they insert In the stalk and branches. CIV.
ing the ulants ne apIsarancs of bsing driven fnl
of rec uiiariy shap-dta tacks. When the insects are
the thickcst GU their feeding piacss the shrtbs
nre cut down. cloths being iald On he ground
10 eaten any OF the bugs that ay drop oil IN
the handling. the plants are carried /" the
places where the oil is to be extracted. where
the Insects are shaken aud scrapcd oil of the
branches. eitner into largo iron vessels. where
they are bo cd or into COARSE cloth sacks which
are placed under strong pressure to express the
the result is the same--a thick. pnsty
grease. resembling lard in compoA-
iaaii form this greas" must bs exposed to "a
tremendous he.t. and wh-n the xr"ass Is once
me ted its entire character Is changed. As a
solid II Obstinntely objected to becoming Il
liquid and liquid il Ms obstinataly objects To
assuming n soi,d lorm. 1t viii not soiidify un-
der a tempe Latnre OF ten degrees abov. zero.
and then .flects a compromise bv becoming
snort and brittle llse sust. Immediately after
eor OF" S ana xsrs and dark coor
As II coos the color changes TO u .i.ht yellow.
mud the oil becomes granular. In any form
min oil vii not cut in aicohoi. q most singular
charac eristi.. 1t IL soluble in Its smooth.
granular. and suet conditions with ether only.
aud treated with ether. hot or cold. 1t beconos
the ricn. den oil YOU see in this brtte. This
ether soution OF min OIL. however. VIII ylad
oil a.so daes the astion OF ordinary saponi-
fers ami will yisd in this resp,-ct "niy after
long AMI per-is,ent boiling IN Soda I've.
e said that nun oil could be prepared 40
that IL wOuii make the coHninonest e OF h abs o.
lGieiy waterproof. and that preparation reyaa 8
beng me ted aud then reduced to the su-t
state. II 1t - melted again. IN a porcelain vss-
psrsiure a @ for m hour or 40. during which timo
certain volatile sub.tances d.sappssr; tough.
!. " S nol
IN IL" sss5ss g. e burned With .srpsne
sembies a solution OF Indis-rubb-r. 1t viii re-
tain a semi-auid condition for days and has
slut on OF min oil. run out in vessels to the
depth Of the sixteenth of an inch. will change
Becomes % extremely @ hard. but reiuins great e,a..
ITCHY. after forty-eight hours expnsure TO tn.
air. This is the wonderful WATERPROOF so!pLi"n OF
the oil. There is no other oirHxinOus substance
in the economy Of nature tina. exhibia so many
pecuiinrities OF com position. aud assumes prop
critics apr rentiy opp,.s;- 10 the nalur- OF oil
Min oil il used by the Indians and Mesti2nss
OF tho Iucatan peninsula in mixing the mig
msnIs they employ in household decoration
and adofnn,snt. and AS a varnish and water.
proofne. As a driving Of! II Is in demand al
over Central America Min oil should DO an
,inportant article in the foreign commerce of
that country. aud believe that il an en- nterpris-
ing man could introiu,e il and control it in the
-. l... Il .yxan frfn
While there is no oil 30 wonderful in its
mak.-up as niin oil: there are others thar are
vial. all ib.. contents of which ar. worth more Than
its weight in gold. 1t has the trais name of
rion oil. because u bias the fraerance OF the
muskm-lon. his oil Is - secretion in the nOse
OF the pilot whale. No other oil has low a
ctngeaiing point as melon oil. 1t TrmaiDs
absolutely no corrosiv-n.ss in ii. AMI for that
reason it is used as q iubr cant for the most
amb.rgr.s. that strange secretion OF the winnie.
"while melon oil eonseals with difficulty;
here - an oil which ls 50 suscrpiihie 10 co q
lee viii melt 1t wi ireezs. But this delicate
grease com"s from q warm country. and is
fore legs ni the Indus River crocodile in the
PunJx6. The preparation Of this oil is the
sns'' s1s oil s' Is famous leather drsssine IN
ihs Orient; l. is ehear ehourh over
snsre: but this ii,rls bn''is DO lev wiz cost me so
could surprise you with II should nut a wick
down in the bott and touch a match To II.
You would see As bright Q flame. almost as n
Kerosene lamp would give. and yet this oil is
on the tried -ouf grease OF An Amazon River AL
Iigstor. Alligator oil has bee used perhaps. for
centuries along the Amazon River rs an ilumi-
nAnt and tho businsss OF extracting Il IL now
an important one in Brazil The back wOOds-
nea OF tho United States have almost sn par
stitiOus faith In the efficacy OF rattlosnaks oil
a. an ointment and iiniment. but the natives OF
the Amazon country regard alligator oil a.
possessing sacred properties "a . medicine. II
Is the base Of all linimsnis and many medi-
c,nes mot only Tor extsrnal but iDtsrnal use.
By the way, here 10 Q vial OF rattlssnako OIL
killed the snAkes In North Carolina and tried It
out myself kattIesnAko oil 10 worth u An
ounce In the mountains OF that State.
In this little bottle 10 q sDecimsa OF Al oil
| thai y Faro because the animal from which 1t
10 extractsd 10 nov Almost extinct and II u an
OH Which revorsss o vell-knoun natural Law.
and isstssd Of becoming putrid or rancid on
-. odCr and nA,o. from .ach s1posaIs; its
DleaaAat and agreeable. This Oil 10 taken
| from the mAnaise or sea COW OF the South
American rivors. This animal has . layer Of
cold fat an inch Thick next to Its skin. and
| from this the oil II extracted by boiling. Tho
| SAt in the manAtos's tail IL OF . much more
delicate character than the oodv fat. and fr N
II an oil thAi Is unsQnslied By olive oil for the
| tatls Is obtained. AAnaies oil 10 In great de-
mand In South America and the West Indies as
|. 0nA iuhr,eator AN illu M n ant and for cuok :