Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1888-07-07
USES OF CASTOR OIL.
One OF the Most Valuable and Scrviceable
of Oleaginous Substances.

One OF the Most Valuable and SorViceable
OF Oleaginous Substances.
Castor oil, though best known for
its medicinal qualities. is from me-
chanical point of view one of the most
valuable of all oleaginous substances.
The production of this oil in the
United States amounts to more than
9O0 900 gallons per year. In 1880 the
value of the product was a little more
than $3.50, 900.
Castor oil is one of the heaviest of
oils. Its specific gravity is nearly as
great as that of water, being .9611.
1t Is the most viscid of the fixed oils
and mixes in all proportions. when
pure, with alcohol and ether AL
though in time in does oxidize
and become solid, yet it is prac-
tically non-drying and nom cumming,
as it may be exposed in thin films for
months without showing any signs of.
cumming or hardening, properties
which give it great value for variety
of purposes. For use upon leather 1t
excels all other oils. Neatsfoot oil is
not to be compared toit. Its viscosity
and its Indifference to the oxygen of
the air, are among the reasons for its
preservative action. The first prevents
its being easily driven out Of the
leather by the action of water or
dampness, and the latter serves to
retard the slow destruction of the
leather by atmospheric action.
1t appears to have a peculiar
action upon leather, softening and
greatly improving that which has be-
come old and hard. Old boots which
are entirely beyond the reach of any
ordinary preparations may be greatly
improved and made almost like new
leather by the application of castor
oil. There is little difficulty in black
ing leather after this oil has been APP
piled. The ordinary preparations of
beeswax, tallow and rosin. when app
piled to leather, do make it water
proof for time, but Us they penetrate
and harden in the leather they APP
pear to open its pores, and when
they have at last been driven out
by moisture, which happens in short
time. the leather is more porous than
before. Ordinary oils appear to open
the pores and to do very little toward
rendering the leather permanently
soft and pliable. A wetting, after
these preparations have been applied,
leaves them worse than before, es-
pecially if they have been wet with
snow water.
Leather hose and leather belts,
when treated with castor oil, last
much longer than when any other
material is used upon them. One
author goes SO far as to say that they
last years longer. A belt well filled
with castor oil will do the work of
one fifty per cent. wider, which has not
been so treated, and at the same time
last more than twice as long. An
other recommendation is thatrats and
mice will not touch the leather, as
they dislike the oil.
For the fabrication of light ma
chinery, castor oil is very valuable, as
it does not gum. AMI It's slow-fowing
prevents it from working out of the
bearings as quickly as the mineral
oils. In this respect it is far ahead o.
most other oils of the same class.
Compared with ordinary "black oil
it would stand as 1870 to 16 or II. AL
though it is very thick, it does no
solidify or freeze until it has beer
cooled to 3 or 4 degrees below zero.
Its melting point is about Is degree:
above zero. The addition of one.
quarter part by weight of beeswax is
sufficient to convert the oil into a sof
solid which might BIO used for many
kinds of fabrication where a grease i!
needed. Mechanical NeaOS.