| A. | B. | C. | D. | E. | F. | G. | H. | I. |
| Plum kernel | 0·9127 | 68 | -9 | Brownish yellow | Amygdalaceous | Very slight | 93 | Non-drying. |
| Rape seed | 0·9128 | 30 | -4 | Yellow | Nauseous | Nauseous | 159 | Non-drying. |
| Colza | 0·9136 | 40 | -9·25 | Yellow | Nauseous | Nauseous | 162 | Non-drying. |
| Cabbage seed | 0·9139 | 48·5 | -8 | Yellow | Nauseous | Nauseous | 148 | Non-drying. |
| White mustard | 0·9142 | 29·8 | -16·25 | Light yellow | Pleasant | Very slight | 157 | Non-drying. |
| Ground nut | 0·9163 | ? | -3 | Pale greenish yellow | Like peas | Like peas | Not tested | Non-drying. |
| Black mustard | 0·9170 | 25 | -17·5 | Yellow | Pleasant | Very slight | 141 | Non-drying. |
| Olive | 0·9176 | 62 | -6[54] | Yellow | Sweet | Peculiar | 195 | Non-drying. |
| Sweet almond | 0·9180 | 52·8 | -21·5 | Amber | Agreeable | None | 150 | Non-drying. |
| Horse-radish seed | 0·9187 | 43 | -16·25 | Yellowish brown | Pleasant | None | 143 | Non-drying. |
| Grape seed | 0·9202 | 37 | -16·25 | Gold yellow | Sweet | None | 99 | Dries slowly. |
| Beech nut | 0·9225 | 50 | -17·5 | Amber | Very sweet | None | 158 | Non-drying. |
| Pumpkin | 0·9231 | 43 | -15 | Pale brown yellow | Sweet | None | 185 | Dries slowly. |
| Land-cress | 0·9240 | 42 | -15 | Brownish yellow | Acrid | Disagreeable | 103 | Dries slowly. |
| Hazel nut | 0·9242 | 53·4 | -10 | Amber | Sweet | None | 166 | Non-drying. |
| Poppy | 0·9243 | 31 | -18[55] | Pale yellow | Flat | None | 123 | Drying. |
| Camelina | 0·9252 | 34 | -18 | Yellowish | Peculiar | Peculiar | 119 | Drying. |
| Walnut | 0·9260 | 45 | -27·5 | Light yellow | Flat | None | 88 | Drying. |
| Sunflower | 0·9262 | 51·8 | -16 | Colourless | Sweet | None | 114 | Dries slowly. |
| Hemp seed | 0·9276 | 46 | -27·5 | Dark greenish yellow | Disagreeable | Disagreeable | 87 | Drying. |
| Cotton seed | 0·9316 | ? | -2·5 | Reddish brown | Strong | None | Not tested | Drying. |
| Sesame | 0·9320 | ? | -5 | Bright yellow | Pleasant, slightly piquant | None | Not tested | Non-drying. |
| Linseed | 0·9347 | 38 | -27 | Dark greenish yellow | Strong | Disagreeable | 88 | Drying. |
| Wood | 0·9358 | 44 | Not noted | Green | Unpleasant | None | 73 | Drying. |
| Spindle | 0·9360 | 61 | -20 | Reddish brown | Acrid | Slight | 143 | Non-drying. |
| Castor | 0·9611 | 47 | -18 | Colourless | Sickly | Very slight | 1,830 | Dries slowly. |
[54] Though these oils do not become quite solid till the point indicated is reached, yet they begin to become grainy at +4° C.
[55] Once solidified, this oil does not liquify until the temperature reaches 2°C.
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.
| Name of Oil | Reagents | |||
| Sulphuric Acid | Saturated Solution of Bichromate of Potassa in Sulphuric Acid | |||
| Not stirred | Stirred | Stirred | ||
| Almond oil | Greenfinch yellow, with orange spots | Dirty green | Yellowish, small lumps | |
| Castor oil | Yellow, with slight spots | Little reaction | Slightly green | |
| Cod-liver oil (fine sample of pale oil) | Deep purple in the centre, rapidly turning brown, whilst violet or purple clouds or streaks spread out towards the circumference, the colour of which remains minutes after the central portion turned nearly black | Deep purple, passing into purple brown, reddish brown, and gradually deepening to an intense brown, approaching black | Reddish-brown clots, changing to a clear bright green | |
| Hemp-seed oil | Small brown lumps or clots on a yellow ground | Greenish brown | Small yellow lumps or clots on a green ground | |
| Linseed oil (from the Upper Rhine) | Dark reddish brown | Brown small lumps on a grey ground | Brown small lumps on an almost colourless ground | |
| (from Paris) | Reddish brown, less dark coloured | Brown clots on a green ground | Brown small lumps on a green ground | |
| (English) | Chestnut brown | Brown clots on a greenish-grey ground | Brown lumps on a greenish-grey ground | |
| Liver-train oil | Dark red | Dark red | Dark red | |
| Madia-sativa oil | Slightly reddish brown underneath a thin greyish film | Olive green | Light brown small lumps on an olive-coloured ground | |
| Black-mustard oil | Bluish green | Olive green | Olive brown | |
| Neat’s-foot oil | Yellow slight spots | Dirty brown | Brown spots on a brownish ground | |
| Nut oil (recent) | Yellowish brown | Clotted, dark brown | Small brown lumps or clots | |
| (one year old) | Yellow | Dirty brown, less dark coloured | Small brown lumps | |
| (still older) | Orange yellow | Dirty brown | Small brownish lumps | |
| Olein, oleic acid, lard, or tallow oil | Reddish spots, with reddish circles | Reddish brown | Bright chestnut colour | |
| 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 spots | Olive brown, turning more on the green | Small yellow lumps on a greenish-grey ground | |
| (one year old, expressed with heat) | Greenish spots | Olive green | Small yellow lumps on a green ground | |
| Rape or colza oil (trade) | Yellowish-brown streaks surrounded by a bluish-green ring | Brownish, turning on the olive green | Yellow small lumps on a green ground | |
| (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 lumps on a brownish ground | Resembles wine lees | Small, bright, chestnut-coloured lumps 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 shelled 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 albumen and gum separate as a scum; 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 mass; 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 mass, 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.