A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines

Chapter II: Application of Light-Gas (33)

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The seeds which have been burst between the rolls, or in the mortars of the Dutch mills, are to be spread as equably as possible by a shovel upon the circular path of the edge-stones, and in about half an hour the charge will be sufficiently ground into a paste. This should be put directly into the press, when fine cold-drawn oil is wanted. But in general the paste is heated before being subjected to the pressure. The pressed cake is again thrown under the edge-stones, and, after being ground the second time, should be exposed to a heat of 212° Fahr., in a proper pan, called a steam-kettle, before being subjected to the second and final pressure in the woollen bags and hair-cloths.

_Fig._ 772. is a vertical section of the steam-kettle of Hallette, and _fig._ 773. is a view of the seed-stirrer. _a_, is the wall of masonry, upon which, and the iron pillars _b_, the pan is supported. It is enclosed in a jacket, for admitting steam into the intermediate space _d_, _d_, _d_, at its sides and bottom. _c_, is the middle of the pan in which the shaft of the stirrer is planted upright, resting by its lower end in the step _e_; _f_, is an opening, by which the contents of the pan may be emptied; _g_, is an orifice into which the mouth of the hair or worsted bag is inserted, in order to receive the heated seed, when it is turned out by the rotation of the stirrer and the withdrawal of the plug _f_ from the discharge aperture; _h_, is the steam induction pipe; and _t_, the eduction pipe, which serves also to run off the condensed water.

The hydraulic oil-press is generally double; that is, it has two vertical rams placed parallel to each other, so that while one side is under pressure, the other side is being discharged. The bags of heated seed-paste or meal are put into cast-iron cases, which are piled over each other to the number of 6 or 8, upon the press sill, and subjected to a force of 300 or 400 tons, by pumps worked with a steam engine. The first pump has usually 2 or 2-1/2 inches diameter for a ram of 10 inches, and the second pump one inch. Each side of the press, in a well-going establishment, should work 38 pounds of seed-flour every 5 minutes. Such a press will do 70 quarters of linseed in the days’ work of one week, with the labour of one man at 20_s._ and three boys at 5_s._ each; and will require a 12-horse power to work it well, along with the rolls and the edge-stones.

I am indebted to my excellent friend Mr. E. Woolsey, for the following most valuable notes, taken by him at sundry mills for pressing oil; and remarks upon the subject of seed-crushing in general.

“The chief point of difference depends upon the quality of seed employed. Heavy seed will yield most oil, and seed ripened under a hot sun, and where the flax is not gathered too green, is the best. The weight of linseed varies from 48 to 52 lbs. per imperial bushel; probably a very fair average is 49 lbs., or 392 lbs. per imperial quarter. I inspected one of the seed-crusher’s books, and the average of 15 trials of a quarter each of different seeds in the season averaged 14-1/2 galls. of 7-1/2 lbs. each; say, 109 lbs. of oil per quarter. This crusher, who uses only the hydraulic press, and one pressing, informed me that

Archangel seed will yield
from 15 to 16 galls. (of 7-1/2 lbs. each)
Best Odessa 18 and even 19 galls.
Good crushing-seed 15-1/2 do.
Low seed, such as weighs 48
lbs. per bushel 13-1/2 do.

“The average of the seed he has worked, which he represents to be of an inferior quality, for the sake of its cheapness, yields 14-1/2 galls. per quarter. I had some American seed which weighed 52-1/4 lbs. per imperial bushel, ground and pressed under my own observation, and it gave me 111 lbs. oil; that is to say, 418 lbs. of seed gave 111 lbs. oil = 26-56/100 per cent. A friend of mine, who is a London crusher, told me the oil varied according to the seed from 14 to 17 galls.; and when you consider the relative value of seeds, and remember that _oil_ and _cake_ from any kind of seed is of the _same value_, it will be apparent that the yield is very different; for example,

25th July, 1836, {E. India linseed worth 52_s._ per quarter.
prices of seed. {Petersburg linseed 48 to 52 do.
{Odessa 52 -- --

The difference of 4_s._ must be paid for in the quantity of oil which at 38_s._ 6_d._ per cwt. (the then price) requires about 11-1/2 lbs. more oil expressed to pay for the difference in the market value of the seed. Another London crusher informed me that East India linseed will produce 17 gallons, and he seemed to think that that was the extreme quantity that could be expressed from _any seed_. The average of last year’s Russian seed would be about 14 galls.; Sicilian seed 16 galls.

“_Rape-seed._--I have not turned my attention to quantity of oil extracted from this seed; but a French crusher (M. Geremboret), on whom I think one may place considerable dependence, told me, that

3-1/2 lbs. of best Cambray rape-seed yielded 1 lb. oil.
3-3/4 -- common rape-seed 1 lb. oil.
4-1/4 -- -- poppy-seed 1 lb. oil.

“Rape-seed weighs from 52 to 56 lbs. per imperial bushel.”

The following are the heads of a reference of machinery for a seed oil-mill:--

1. Two pairs of cast-iron rollers, 19 inches long, and 10 inches in diameter, fixed in a cast-iron frame, with brasses, wheels, shafts, bolts, scrapers, hoppers, shoes, &c.

2. Two pairs of edge-stones, 7 feet diameter each, with two bottom stones, 6 feet diameter each, cast-iron upright shafts, sweepers, wheels, shafts, chairs, brasses, bolts, and scrapers, with driving spur-wheels, &c.

3. Five steam kettles, with wheels, shafts, and brasses, bolts, breeches, and steam pipes, an upright cast-iron shaft, with chairs and brasses at each end; and a large bevel wheel upon the bottom end of upright shaft, and another, smaller, upon fly-wheel shaft, for the first motions.

4. Five stamper presses, with press plates of cast iron, cast-iron stamper shaft with 10 arms and 10 rollers, with bosses, brasses, bolts, driving bevel-wheels.

A well made oil-mill, consisting of the above specified parts, will manufacture 200 quarters of seed per week.

I have been assured by practical engineers, conversant in oil-mills, that a double hydraulic press, with 2 ten-inch rams, will do the work of no more than two of the stamper presses; that is to say, it will work 22 quarters in 24 hours; while three stamper presses will work 33 quarters in the same time, and produce one half more oil.

_Castor oil, quantity of_,

+-------+---------+------------+---------+
| | |Retained for| |
| |Imported.|consumption.|Exported.|
+-------+---------+------------+---------+
|_Year._| _Cwts._ | _Cwts._ | _Cwts._ |
| 1835. |1,109,307| 670,205 | 61,296 |
| 1836. | 981,585| 809,559 | 68,515 |
+-------+---------+------------+---------+

Duty, from British possessions, 2_s._ 6_d._ per cwt.; from foreign, 1_s._ per lb.

_Cocoa-nut oil, quantity of,_

+-------+---------+------------+---------+
| | |Retained for| |
| |Imported.|consumption.|Exported.|
+-------+---------+------------+---------+
|_Year._| _Cwts._ | _Cwts._ | _Cwts._ |
| 1835. | 19,838 | 14,015 | 2,238 |
| 1836. | 26,058 | 26,062 | 3,158 |
| 1837. | 41,218 | 28,836 | |
+-------+---------+------------+---------+

_Olive oil, quantity of,_

+-------+---------+------------+---------+
| | |Retained for| |
| |Imported.|consumption.|Exported.|
+-------+---------+------------+---------+
|_Year._|_Galls._ | _Galls._ | _Galls._|
| 1835. | 606,166| 554,196 | 283,734 |
| 1836. |2,682,016| 1,844,622 | 150,561 |
| 1837. |1,720,397| 1,499,122 | |
+-------+---------+------------+---------+

Duties on olive oil, not of Naples and Sicily, 4_d._; of Naples and Sicily, 8_d._; and, if in ships of these countries, 10_d._ per gallon.

_Train oil, spermaceti, and blubber, quantity of,_

+-------+---------+------------+---------+
| | |Retained for| |
| |Imported.|consumption.|Exported.|
+-------+---------+------------+---------+
|_Year._| _Tuns._ | _Tuns._ | _Tuns._ |
| 1835. | 24,197 | 16,114 | 8,035 |
| 1836. | 19,489 | 18,722 | 1,365 |
| 1837. | 21,823 | 21,286 | |
+-------+---------+------------+---------+

Duties on oil taken by British ships, 1_s._; by foreign fishers, _£_26 18_s._ per tun.

OILS, VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL; Manufacture of. The volatile oils occur in every part of odoriferous plants, whose aroma they diffuse by their exhalation; but in different organs of different species. Certain plants, such as thyme and the scented _labiatæ_, in general contain volatile oil in all their parts; but others contain it only in the blossoms, the seeds, the leaves, the root, or the bark. It sometimes happens that different parts of the same plant contain different oils; the orange, for example, furnishes three different oils, one of which resides in the flowers, another in the leaves, and a third in the skin or epidermis of the fruit. The quantity of oil varies not only with the species, but also in the same plant, with the soil, and especially the climate; thus in hot countries it is generated most profusely. In several plants, the volatile oil is contained in peculiar orders of vessels, which confine it so closely that it does not escape in the drying, nor is dissipated by keeping the plants for many years. In other species, and particularly in flowers, it is formed continually upon their surface, and flies off at the moment of its formation.

Volatile oils are usually obtained by distillation. For this purpose the plant is introduced into a still, water is poured upon it, and heat being applied, the oil is volatilized by the aid of the watery vapour, at the temperature of 212°, though when alone it would probably not distil over unless the heat were 100° more. This curious fact was first explained in my _New Researches upon Heat_, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1818. Most of the essential oils employed in medicine and perfumery are extracted by distillation from dried plants; only a few, such as those of the rose and orange flower, are obtained, from fresh or succulent salted plants. When the mingled vapours of the oil and water are condensed into the liquid state, by the refrigerator of the still, the oil separates, and either floats on the surface or sinks to the bottom of the water. Some oils of a less volatile nature require a higher heat than 212° to raise them in vapour, and must be dislodged by adding common salt to the water, whereby the heat being augmented by 15°, they readily come over. If in such distillations too much water be added, no oil will be obtained, because it is partially soluble in water; and thus merely an aromatic water is produced. If on the other hand too little water be used, the plant may happen to adhere to the bottom of the still, get partially charred, and thus impart an empyreumatic odour to the product. But as the quality of water distilled depends less upon the quantity employed, than upon that of the surface exposed to the heat, it is obvious that by giving a suitable form to the still, we may get rid of every inconvenience. Hence the narrower and taller the alembic is, within certain limits, the greater will be the proportion of oil relative to that of the aromatic water, from like proportions of aqueous and vegetable matter employed. Some place the plants in baskets, and suspend these immediately over the bottom of the still under the water, or above its surface in the steam. But the best mode in my opinion is to stuff an upright cylinder full of the plants, and to drive down through them, steam of any desired force; its tension and temperature being further regulated by the size of the outlet orifice leading to the condenser. The cylinder should be made of strong copper tinned inside, and encased in the worst conducting species of wood, such as soft deal or sycamore.

The distillation is to be continued as long as the water comes over of a milky appearance. Certain plants yield so little oil by the ordinary processes, notwithstanding every care, that nothing but a distilled water is obtained. In this case, the same water must be poured upon a fresh quantity of the plants in the still; which being drawn over, is again to be poured upon fresh plants; and thus repeatedly, till a certain dose of oil be separated. This being taken off, the saturated water is reserved for a like distillation.

The refrigeratory vessel is usually a worm or serpentine plunged in a tub of water, whose temperature should be generally cold; but for distilling the oils of anise-seed, fennel, &c., which become concrete at low temperatures, the water should not be cooler than 45° F.

The liquid product is commonly made to run at the worm end, into a vessel called an Italian or Florentine receiver, which is a conical matrass, standing on its base, with a pipe rising out of the side close to the bottom, and recurved a little above the middle of the flask like the spout of a coffee-pot. The water and the oil collected in this vessel soon separate from each other, according to their respective specific gravities; the one floating above the other. If the water be the denser, it occupies the under portion of the vessel, and continually overflows by the spout in communication with the bottom, while the lighter oil is left. When the oil is the heavier of the two, the receiver should be a large inverted cone, with a stopcock at its apex to run off the oil from the water when the separation has been completed by repose. A funnel, having a glass stopcock attached to its narrow stem, is the most convenient apparatus for freeing the oil finally from any adhering particles of water. A cotton wick dipped in the oil may also serve the same purpose by its capillary action. The less the oil is transvased the better, as a portion of it is lost at every transfer. It may occasionally be useful to cool the distilled water by surrounding it with ice, because it thus parts with more of the oil with which it is impregnated.

There are a few essential oils which may be obtained by expression, from the substances which contain them; such as the oils of lemons and bergamot, found in the pellicle of the ripe fruits of the _citrus aurantium_ and _medica_; or the orange and the citron. The oil comes out in this case with the juice of the peel, and collects upon its surface.

For collecting the oils of odoriferous flowers which have no peculiar organs for imprisoning them, and therefore speedily let them exhale, such as violets, jasmine, tuberose, and hyacinth, another process must be resorted to. Alternate layers are formed of the fresh flowers, and thin cotton fleece or woollen cloth-wadding, previously soaked in a pure and inodorous fat oil. Whenever the flowers have given out all their volatile oil to the fixed oil upon the fibrous matter, they are replaced by fresh flowers in succession, till the fat oil has become saturated with the odorous particles. The cotton or wool wadding being next submitted to distillation along with water, gives up the volatile oil. Perfumers alone use these oils; they employ them either mixed as above, or dissolve them out by means of alcohol. In order to extract the oils of certain flowers, as for instance of white lilies, infusion in a fat oil is sufficient.

Essential oils differ much from each other in their physical properties. Most of them are yellow, others are colourless, red, or brown; some again are green, and a few are blue. They have a powerful smell, more or less agreeable, which immediately after their distillation is occasionally a little rank, but becomes less so by keeping. The odour is seldom as pleasant as that of the recent plant. Their taste is acrid, irritating, and heating, or merely aromatic when they are largely diluted with water or other substances. They are not greasy to the touch, like the fat oils, but on the contrary make the skin feel rough. They are almost all lighter than water, only a very few falling to the bottom of this liquid; their specific gravity lies between 0·847 and 1·096; the first number denoting the density of oil of citron, and the second that of oil of sassafras. Although styled volatile oils, the tension of their vapour, as well as its specific heat, is much less than that of water. The boiling point differs in different kinds, but it is usually about 316° or 320° Fahr. Their vapours sometimes render reddened litmus paper blue, although they contain no ammonia. When distilled by themselves, the volatile oils are partially decomposed; and the gaseous products of the portion decomposed always carry off a little of the oil. When they are mixed with clay or sand, and exposed to a distilling heat, they are in a great measure decomposed; or when they are passed in vapour through a redhot tube, combustible gases are obtained, and a brilliant porous charcoal is deposited in the tube. On the other hand, they distil readily with water, because the aqueous vapour formed at the surface of the boiling fluid carries along with it the vapour of the oil produced in virtue of the tension which it possesses at the 212th deg. Fahr. In the open air, the volatile oils burn with a shining flame, which deposits a great deal of soot. The congealing point of the essential oils varies greatly; some do not solidify till cooled below 32°, others at this point, and some are concrete at the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere. They comport themselves in this respect like the fat oils; and they probably consist, like them, of two different oils, a solid and a fluid; to which the names _stearoptène_ and _eleoptène_, or stearessence and oleiessence, may be given. These may be separated from each other by compressing the cooled concrete oil between the folds of porous paper; the stearessence remains as a solid upon the paper; the oleiessence penetrates the paper, and may be recovered by distilling it along with water.

When exposed to the air, the volatile oils change their colour, become darker, and gradually absorb oxygen. This absorption commences whenever they are extracted from the plant containing them; it is at first considerable, and diminishes in rapidity as it goes on. Light contributes powerfully to this action, during which the oil disengages a little carbonic acid, but much less than the oxygen absorbed; no water is formed. The oil turns gradually thicker, loses its smell, and is transformed into a resin, which becomes eventually hard. De Saussure found that oil of lavender, recently distilled, had absorbed in four winter months, and at a temperature below 54° F., 52 times its volume of oxygen, and had disengaged twice its volume of carbonic acid gases; nor was it yet completely saturated with oxygen. The stearessence of anise-seed oil absorbed at its liquefying temperature, in the space of two years, 156 times its volume of oxygen gas, and disengaged 26 times its volume of carbonic acid gas. An oil which has begun to experience such an oxidizement is composed of a resin dissolved in the unaltered oil; and the oil may be separated by distilling the solution along with water. To preserve oils in an unchanged state, they must be put in phials, filled to the top, closed with ground glass stopples, and placed in the dark.

Volatile oils are little soluble in water, yet enough so as to impart to it by agitation their characteristic smell and taste. The water which distils with any oil is in general a saturated solution of it, and as such is used in medicine under the name of distilled water. It often contains other volatile substances contained in the plants, and hence is apt to putrefy and acquire a nauseous smell when kept in perfectly corked bottles; but in vessels partially open, these parts exhale, and the water remains sweet. The waters, however, which are made by agitating volatile oil with simple distilled water are not apt to spoil by keeping in well-corked bottles.

The volatile oils are soluble in alcohol, and the more so the stronger the spirit is. Some volatile oils, devoid of oxygen, such as the oils of turpentine and citron, are very sparingly soluble in dilute alcohol; while the oils of lavender, pepper, &c. are considerably so. De Saussure has inferred from his experiments that the volatile oils are the more soluble in alcohol, the more oxygen they contain. Such combinations form the odoriferous spirits which the perfumers incorrectly call waters, as _lavender water_, _eau de Cologne_, _eau de jasmin_, &c. They become turbid by admixture of water, which seizes the alcohol, and separates the volatile oils. Ether also dissolves all the essential oils.

These oils combine with several vegetable acids, such as the acetic, the oxalic, the succinic, the fat acids (stearic, margaric, oleic), the camphoric, and suberic.

With the exception of the oil of cloves, the volatile oils do not combine with the salifiable bases. They have been partially combined with caustic alkali, as in the case of Starkey’s soap. This is prepared by triturating recently fused caustic soda in a mortar, with a little oil of turpentine, added drop by drop, till the mixture has acquired the consistence of soap. The compound is to be dissolved in spirits of wine, filtered, and distilled. What remains after the spirit is drawn off, consists of soda combined with a resin formed in the oil during the act of trituration.

The volatile oils in general absorb six or eight times their bulk of ammoniacal gas; but that of lavender absorbs 47 times.

The essential oils dissolve all the fat oils, the resins, and the animal fats.

In commerce these oils are often adulterated with fat oils, resins, or balsam of capivi dissolved in volatile oil. This fraud may be detected by putting a drop of the oil on paper, and exposing it to heat. A pure essential oil evaporates without leaving any residuum, whilst an oil mixed with any of the above substances leaves a translucent stain upon the paper. If fat oil be present, it will remain undissolved, on mixing the adulterated essential oil with thrice its volume of spirit of wine of specific gravity 0·840. Resinous matter mixed with volatile oil is easily detected, being left in the alembic after distillation. Oil diluted with spirit of wine, forms a milky emulsion on the addition of water; the alcoholic part is absorbed by the water, and the oil afterwards found on the surface, in a graduated glass tube will show by its quantity the amount of the adulteration.

But it is more difficult to detect the presence of a cheap essential oil in a dear one, which it resembles. Here the taste and smell are our principal guides. A few drops of the suspected oil are to be poured upon a bit of cloth, which is to be shaken in the air, and smelled to from time to time. In this way we may succeed in distinguishing the odour of the oil which exhales at the beginning, and that which exhales at the end; a method which serves perfectly to detect oil of turpentine in the finer essential oils. Moreover, when the debased oil is mixed with spirits of wine at sp. gr. 0·840, the oil of turpentine remains in a great measure undissolved. If an oil heavier than water, and an oil lighter than water, be mixed, they may be separated by agitation for some time with that liquid, and then leaving the mixture at rest. Essential oils may also be distinguished by a careful examination of their respective densities.

_Oil of bitter almonds_, is prepared by exposing the bitter almond cake, from which the bland oil has been expressed, in a sieve to the vapour of water rising within the still. The steam, as it passes up through the bruised almond _parenchyma_, carries off its volatile oil, and condenses along with it in the worm. The oil which first comes over, and which falls to the bottom of the water, has so pungent and penetrating a smell, that it is more like cyanogen gas than hydrocyanic or prussic acid. This oil has a golden-yellow colour, it is heavier than water; when much diluted, it has an agreeable smell, and a bitter burning taste. When exposed to the air, it absorbs oxygen, and lets fall a heap of crystals of benzoic acid. This oil consists of a mixture of two oils; one of which is volatile, contains hydrocyanic acid, and is poisonous; the other is less volatile, is not poisonous, absorbs oxygen, and becomes benzoic acid. If we dissolve 100 parts of the oil of bitter almonds in spirit of wine, mix with the solution an alcoholic solution of potash, and then precipitate the oil with water, we shall obtain a quantity of cyanide of potash, capable of producing 22-1/2 parts of prussian blue. Oil of bitter almonds combines with the alkalis. Perfumers employ a great quantity of this oil in scenting their soaps. One manufacturer in Paris is said to prepare annually 3 cwt. of this oil. A similar poisonous oil is obtained by distilling the following substances with water:--the leaves of the peach (_amygdalus persica_), the leaves of the bay-laurel (_prunus lauro-cerasus_), the bark of the plum tree (_prunus padus_), and the bruised kernels of cherry and plum-stones. All these oils contain hydrocyanic acid, which renders them poisonous, and they also generate benzoic acid, by absorbing oxygen on exposure to air.

_Oil of anise-seed_, is extracted by distillation from the seeds of the _pimpinella anisum_. It is either colourless, or has merely a faint yellow colour, with the smell and taste of the seed. It concretes in lamellar crystals at the temperature of 50°, and does not melt again till heated to 64° nearly. Its specific gravity at 61° is 0·9958, and at 77°, 0·9857. It is soluble in all proportions in alcohol of 0·806; but only to the extent of 42 per cent. in alcohol of 0·84. When it becomes resinous by long exposure to the air, it loses its congealing property. It consists of two oils; a solid stearessence, and a liquid oleiessence, which may be separated by compression of the cold concrete oil.

_Oil of bergamot_, is extracted by pressure from the rind of the ripe fruit of the _citrus bergamium_ and _aurantium_. It is a limpid, yellowish fluid, having a smell resembling that of oranges. Its specific gravity varies from 0·888 to 0·885. It becomes concrete when cooled a little below 32°.

_Oil of cajeput_, is prepared in the Moluccas, by distilling the dry leaves of the _melaleuca leucadendron_. Cajeput is a native word, signifying merely a white tree. This oil is green; it has a burning taste, a strong smell of camphor, turpentine, and savine. It is very fluid, and at 48° has a specific gravity of 0·948. The colour seems to be derived from the copper vessels in which it is imported, so that it is removed by distillation with water, which also separates the oil into two sorts; the first which comes over having a density of 0·897, the last of 0·920. This has a green colour.

_The oil of caraway_ is extracted from the seeds of the _carum carui_. It has a pale yellow colour, and the smell and taste of the plant. Its specific gravity is 0·960. The seeds of the _cuminum cyminum_ (cumin) afford an oil similar to the preceding, but not so agreeable. Its specific gravity is 0·975.

_The oil of cassia_, from the _laurus cassia_, is yellow passing into brown, has a specific gravity of 1·071, and affords a crystalline stearessence by keeping in a somewhat open vessel.

_The oil of chamomile_ is extracted by distillation from the flowers of the _matricaria chamomilla_. It has a deep blue colour, is almost opaque, and thick; and possesses the peculiar smell of the plant. In the atmosphere it becomes brown and unctuous. If an ounce of oil of lemons be added to 3 pounds of this oil, they make it separate more readily from the adhering water.

Other blue oils, having much analogy with oil of chamomile, are obtained by distilling the following plants: roman chamomile (_anthemis nobilis_), the flowers of _arnica montana_, and those of milfoil (_achillæa millefolia_). The last has a spec. grav. of 0·852.

_Oil of cinnamon_, is extracted by distillation from the bark of the _laurus cinnamomum_. It is produced chiefly in Ceylon, from the pieces of bark unfit for exportation. It is distilled over with difficulty, and the process is promoted by the addition of salt water, and the use of a low still. It has at first a pale yellow colour, but it becomes brown with age. It possesses in a high degree both the sweet burning taste, and the agreeable smell of cinnamon. It is heavier than water; its specific gravity being 1·035. It concretes below 32° F., and does not fuse again till heated to 41°. It is very sparingly soluble in water, and when agitated with it readily separates by repose. It dissolves abundantly in alcohol, and combines with ammonia into a viscid mass, not decomposed on exposure to air.

When oil of cinnamon is kept for a long time, it deposits a stearessence in large regular colourless or yellow crystals, which may be pulverized, and which melt at a very gentle heat into a colourless liquid, which crystallizes on cooling. It has an odour intermediate between that of cinnamon and vanilla; and a taste at first greasy, but afterwards burning and aromatic. It crackles between the teeth. It requires a high temperature for distillation, and becomes then brown and empyreumatic. It is very soluble in alcohol.

_The oil of cloves_, is extracted from the dried flower buds of the _caryophyllus aromaticus_. It is colourless, or yellowish, has a strong smell of the cloves, and a burning taste. Its specific gravity is 1·061. It is one of the least volatile oils, and the most difficult to distil. At the end of a certain time it deposits a crystalline concrete oil. A similar _stearessence_ is obtained by boiling the bruised cloves in alcohol, and letting the solution cool. The crystals thus formed are brilliant, white, grouped in globules, without taste and smell. Oil of cloves has remarkable chemical properties. It dissolves in alcohol, ether, and acetic acid. It does not solidify at a temperature of 4° under 0° F., even when exposed to that cold for several hours. It absorbs chlorine gas, becomes green, then brown, and turns resinous. Nitric acid makes it red, and if heated upon it, converts it into oxalic acid. If mixed by slow degrees with one third of its weight of sulphuric acid, an acid liquor is formed, at whose bottom a resin of a fine purple colour is found. After being washed, this resin becomes hard and brittle. Alcohol dissolves it, and takes a red colour; and water precipitates it of a blood red hue. It dissolves also in ether. When we agitate a mixture of strong caustic soda lye and oil of cloves in equal parts, the mass thickens very soon, and forms delicate lamellar crystals. If we then pour water upon it, and distil, there passes along with the water, a small quantity of an oil which differs from oil of cloves both in taste and chemical properties. During the cooling, the liquor left in the retort lets fall a quantity of crystalline needles, which being separated by expression from the alkaline liquid, are almost inodorous, but possess an alkaline taste, joined to the burning taste of the oil. These crystals require for solution from 10 to 12 parts of cold water. Potash lye produces similar effects. Ammoniacal gas transmitted through the oil is absorbed and makes it thick. The concrete combination thus formed remains solid as long as the phial containing it is corked, but when opened, the compound becomes liquid; and these phenomena may be reproduced as many times as we please. Such combinations are decomposed by acids, and the oil set at liberty has the same taste and smell as at first, but it has a deep red colour. The alkalis enable us to detect the presence of other oils, as that of turpentine or sassafras, in that of cloves, because they fix the latter, while the former may be volatilized with water by distilling the mixture. The oil of cloves found in commerce is not pure, but contains a mixture of the tincture of pinks or clove-gilly flowers, whose acrid resin is thereby introduced. It is sometimes sophisticated with other oils.

_The oil of elder_, is extracted by distillation from the flowers of the _sambucus nigra_. It has the consistence of butter. The watery solution is used in medicine.

_Oil of fennel_, is extracted by distillation from the seeds of the _anethum fœniculum_. It is either colourless or of a yellow tint, has the smell of the plant, and a specific gravity of 0·997. When treated with nitric acid, it affords benzoin. It congeals at the temperature of 14° F., and then yields by pressure a solid and a liquid oil; the former appearing in crystalline plates. It is used in this country for scenting soap.

_Oils of fermented liquors._ The substances usually fermented contain a small quantity of essential oils, which become volatile along with the alcoholic vapours in distillation, and progressively increase as the spirits become weaker towards the end of the process. The vapours then condense into a milky liquor. These oils adhere strongly to the alcohol, and give it a peculiar acrid taste. They differ according to the vinous wash from which they are obtained, and combine with greater or less facility with caustic alkalis.

1. _Oil of grain spirits._ At the ordinary temperature it is partially a white solid; when cooled lower it assumes the aspect of suet, and therefore consists chiefly of stearessence. Its taste and smell are most offensive; it swims upon the surface of water, and even of spirit containing 30 per cent. of alcohol. It sometimes derives a green colour from the copper worm of the still. When heated it fuses and turns yellow. When it has become resinous by the agency of the atmosphere, it gives a greasy stain to paper. It dissolves in 6 parts of anhydrous alcohol, and in 2 of ether; and is said to crystallize when the spirit solution has been saturated with it hot, and is allowed to cool. By exposure to a freezing mixture, the whiskey which contains it lets it fall. Caustic potash dissolves it very slowly, and forms a soap soluble in 60 parts of water. It is absorbed by wood charcoal, and still better by bone black; whereby it may be completely abstracted from bad whiskey. According to Buchner, another oil may also be obtained from the residuum of the second distillation of whiskey, if saturated with sea salt, and again distilled. Thus we obtain a pale yellow fluid oil, which does not concrete with cold, possessed of a disagreeable smell and acrid taste. Its specific gravity is 0·835. It is soluble in alcohol and ether.

2. _The oil from potato spirits_, has properties quite different from the preceding. It is obtained in considerable quantity by continuing the distillation after most of the alcohol has come over, and it appears in the form of a yellowish oil, mixed with water and spirits. After being agitated first with water, then with a strong solution of muriate of lime, and distilled afresh, it possesses the following properties: it is colourless, limpid, has a peculiar smell, and a bitter hot taste of considerable permanence. It leaves no greasy stain upon paper, remains liquid at 0° F., but cooled below that point it crystallizes like oil of anise-seed. When pure it boils at 257° F.; but at a lower degree, if it contains alcohol. Its specific gravity is 0·821, or 0·823 when it contains a little water. It burns with a clear flame without smoke, but it easily goes out, if not burned with a wick. It dissolves in small quantity in water, to which it imparts its taste and the properties of forming a lather by agitation. It dissolves in all proportions in alcohol. Chlorine renders it green. Concentrated sulphuric acid converts it into a crimson solution, from which it is precipitated yellow by water. It dissolves in all proportions in acetic acid. Concentrated caustic lyes dissolve it, but give it up to water. It does not appear to be poisonous, like the oil of corn spirits; because, when given by spoonfuls to dogs, it produced no other effect but vomiting.

3. _The oil of brandy or grape spirits_, is obtained during the distillation of the fermented residuum of expressed grapes; being produced immediately after the spirituous liquor has passed over. It is very fluid, limpid, of a penetrating odour, and an acrid disagreeable taste. It grows soon yellow in the air. When this oil is distilled, the first portions of it pass unchanged, but afterwards it is decomposed and becomes empyreumatic. It dissolves in 1000 parts of water, and communicates to it its peculiar taste and smell. One drop of it is capable of giving a disagreeable flavour to ten old English gallons of spirits. It combines with the caustic alkalis, and dissolves sulphur.

_Oil of Juniper_, is obtained by distilling juniper berries along with water. These should be bruised, because their oil is contained in small sacs or reservoirs, which must be laid open before the oil can escape. It is limpid and colourless, or sometimes of a faint greenish yellow colour. Its specific gravity is 0·911. It has the smell and taste of the juniper. Water, or even alcohol, dissolves very little of it. Gin contains a very minute quantity of this oil. Like oil of turpentine, it imparts to the urine of persons who swallow it, the smell of violets. Oil of juniper is frequently sophisticated with oil of turpentine introduced into the still with the berries; a fraud easily detected by the diminished density of the mixture.

_The oil of lavender_, is extracted from the flowering spike of the _lavandula spica_. It is yellow, very fluid, has a strong odour of the lavender, and a burning taste. The specific gravity of the oil found in commerce is 0·898 at the temperature of 72° F., and of 0·877 when it has been rectified. It is soluble in all proportions in alcohol of 0·830, but alcohol of 0·887 dissolves only 42 per cent. of its weight. The fresh oil detonates slightly when mixed with iodine, with the production of a yellow cloud. There occurs in commerce a kind of oil of lavender known under the name of oil of _aspic_ or oil of _spike_, extracted by distillation from a wild variety of the _lavandula spica_, which has large leaves, and is therefore called _latifolia_. This oil is manufactured in the south of Europe. Its odour is less characteristic than that of the lavender, resembling somewhat that of oil of turpentine, with which it is indeed often adulterated. It is also so cheap as to be sometimes used instead of the latter oil. Oil of lavender deposits, when partially exposed to the air, a concrete oil, which resembles camphor, to the amount of one fourth of its weight.

_Oil of lemons_, is extracted by pressure from the yellow peel of the fruit of the lemon, or _citrus medica_. In this state it is a yellowish fluid, having a specific gravity of 0·8517; but when distilled along with water till three fifths of the oil have come over, it is obtained in a colourless state, and of a specific gravity of 0·847 at 72° F. This oil does not become concrete till cooled to 4° below 0° F.

The oil of lemons has a very agreeable smell of the fruit, which is injured by distillation. It is soluble in all proportions in anhydrous alcohol, but only 14 parts dissolve in 100 of spirits of wine of specific gravity 0·837. This oil, especially when distilled, forms with muriatic acid similar camphorated compounds with oil of turpentine, absorbing no less than 280 volumes of the acid gas.

Oil of lemons kept long, in ill-corked bottles, generates a quantity of stearessence, which when dissolved in alcohol, precipitated by water, and evaporated, affords brilliant, colourless, transparent needles. Some acetic acid is also generated in the old oil. According to Brandes, the specific gravity of oil of lemons is 0·8786.

_The oil of mace_, lets fall, after a certain time, a concrete oil under the form of a crystalline crust, called by John _myristicine_.

_The oil of nutmegs_, is extracted chiefly from mace, which is the inner epidermis of these nuts. It is colourless, or yellowish, a little viscid with a strong aromatic odour of nutmegs, an acrid taste, and a specific gravity of 0·948. It consists of two oils, which may be easily separated from each other by agitation with water; for one of them, which is more volatile and aromatic comes to the surface, while the other, which is denser, white, and of a buttery consistence, falls to the bottom. The latter liquefies by the heat of the hand.

_The oil of orange flowers_, called _neroli_, is extracted from the fresh flowers of the _citrus aurantium_. When recently prepared it is yellow; but when exposed for two hours to the rays of the sun, or for a longer time to diffuse daylight, it becomes of a yellowish-red. It is very fluid, lighter than water, and has a most agreeable smell. The aqueous solution known under the name of orange-flower water, is used as a perfume. It is obtained either by dissolving the oil in water, or by distilling with water the leaves either fresh or salted; the first being the stronger, but the last being the more fragrant preparation. Orange-flower water obtained by distillation, contains besides the oil, a principle which comes over with it, of a nature hitherto unknown; it possesses the property of imparting to water the faculty of becoming red with a few drops of sulphuric acid. The water formed from the oil alone, is destitute of this property. The intensity of the rose-colour is a test in some measure of the richness of the water in oil.

_The oil of parsley_, is extracted from the _apium petroselinum_. It is of a pale yellow colour, having the smell of the plant, and consists of two oils separable by agitation in water. Its liquid part floats upon the surface in a very fluid form; its stearessence, which falls to the bottom, is butyraceous and crystallizes at a low temperature. This concrete oil melts at 86° F.

_The oil of pepper_, is extracted from the _piper nigrum_. In the recent state it is limpid and colourless, but by keeping it becomes yellow. It swims upon the surface of water. In odour it resembles pepper, but is devoid of its hot taste.

_The oil of peppermint_ is extracted from the _mentha piperita_. It is yellowish, and endued with a very acrid burning taste. Its specific gravity is 0·920. At 6° or 7° below 0° F., it deposits small capillary crystals. After long keeping it affords a stearessence resembling camphor, provided the oil had been obtained from the dry plant gathered in flower, but not from distillation of the fresh plant. When artificially cooled, it yields 6 per cent. of stearessence, which crystallizes in prisms with three sides, has an acrid somewhat rank taste, is soluble in ether and alcohol, and is thrown down from the latter solution by water in the form of a white powder. Peppermint water is characterized by the sensation of coolness which it diffuses in the mouth.

_The oil of pimento_, is extracted from the envelopes of the fruits of the _myrtus pimenta_, which afford 8 per cent. of it. It is yellowish, almost colourless, of a smell analogous to that of cloves, an acrid burning taste, and a specific gravity greater than water. Nitric acid makes it first red, and after the effervescence, of a rusty brown hue. It combines with the salifiable bases, like oil of cloves.

_The oil of rhodium_, is extracted from the wood of the _convolvolus scoparius_. It is very fluid, and has a yellow colour, which in time becomes red. It has somewhat of the rose odour, and is used to adulterate the genuine _otto_. Its taste is bitter and aromatic, which it imparts to the otto as well as its fluidity.

_The oil of roses_, called also the _attar_ or _otto_, is extracted by distillation from the petals of the _rosa centifolia_ and _sempervirens_. Our native roses furnish such small quantities of the oil, that they are not worth distilling for the purpose. The best way of operating is to return the distilled water repeatedly upon fresh petals, and eventually to cool the saturated water with ice; whereby a little butyraceous oil is deposited. But the oil thus obtained has not a very agreeable odour, being injured by the action of the air in the repeated distillations. In the East Indies, the attar is obtained by stratifying rose leaves in earthen pans in alternate layers, with the oleiferous seeds of a species of digitalis, called _gengeli_, for several days, in a cool situation. The fat oil of the seed absorbs the essential oil of the rose. By repeating this process with fresh leaves and the same seed, this becomes eventually swollen, and being then expressed furnishes the oil. The turbid liquid thus obtained is left at rest, in well-closed vessels, where it gets clarified. The layer of oil that floats on the top is then drawn off by a capillary cotton wick, and subjected to distillation along with water, whereby the volatile otto is separated from the fat seed-oil.

The oil of roses is colourless, and possesses the smell of roses, which is not however agreeable, unless when diffused, for in its concentrated state it is far from pleasant to the nostrils, and is apt to occasion headaches. Its taste is bland and sweetish. It is lighter than water, and at the temperature of 92°, its specific gravity compared to that of water at 60° is 0·832. At lower temperatures it becomes concrete and butyraceous; and afterwards fuses at 90°. It is but slightly soluble in alcohol; 1000 parts of this liquid at 0·806 dissolving only 7-1/2 parts at 58° F. This oil consists of two parts, the stearessence and oleiessence; the latter being the more volatile odoriferous portion.

_The oil of rosemary_, is extracted from the _rosmarinus officinalis_. It is as limpid as water, has the smell of the plant, and in other respects resembles oil of turpentine. The oil found in commerce has a specific gravity of 0·911, which becomes 0·8886 by rectification. It boils at 320° F. (occasionally at 329°). It is soluble in all portions in alcohol of 0·830. When kept in imperfectly closed vessels, it deposits a stearessence to the amount of one tenth of its weight, resembling camphor. It is sometimes adulterated with oil of turpentine, a fraud easily detected by adding anhydrous alcohol, which dissolves only the oil of rosemary.

_The oil of saffron_, is extracted from the _stigmata_ of the _crocus sativus_. It is yellow, very fluid, falls to the bottom of water, diffuses the penetrating odour of the plant, and has an acrid and bitter taste. It is narcotic.

_The oil of sassafras_, is extracted from the woody root of the _laurus sassafras_. It is colourless; but at the end of a certain time it becomes yellow or red. It has a peculiar, sweetish, pretty agreeable, but somewhat burning taste. Its specific gravity is 1·094. According to Bonastre, this oil separates by agitation with water into an oil lighter and an oil heavier than this fluid. When long kept, it deposits a stearessence in transparent and colourless crystals, which have the smell and taste of the liquid oil.

_The oil of savine_, is extracted from the leaves of the _juniperus sabina_. It is limpid, and has the odour and taste of the plant, which is one more productive of volatile oil than any other.

_The oil of tansy_ has a specific gravity of 0·946, the penetrating odour of the _tanacetum vulgare_, with an acrid and bitter taste.

_Oil of turpentine_, commonly called essence of turpentine. It is extracted from several species of turpentine, a semi-liquid resinous substance which exudes from certain trees of the _pine_ tribe, and is obtained by distilling the resin along with water. This oil is the cheapest of all the volatile species, and, as commonly sold, contains a little resin, from which it may be freed by re-distillation with water. It is colourless, limpid, very fluid, and has a very peculiar smell. Its specific gravity at 60° is 0·872; that of the spirit on sale in the shops is 0·876. This oil always reddens litmus paper, because it contains a little succinic acid.

100 parts of spirits of wine, of specific gravity 0·84, dissolve only 13-1/2 of oil of turpentine at 72° F. When agitated with alcohol at 0·830 the oil retains afterwards one fifth of its bulk of the spirit; hence this proposed method for purifying oil of turpentine is defective. The oil if left during four months in contact with air is capable of absorbing 20 times its bulk of oxygen gas. One volume of rectified oil of turpentine absorbs at the temperature of 72°, and under the common atmospheric pressure, 163 times its volume of muriatic acid gas, provided the vessel be kept cool with ice. This mixture being allowed to repose for 24 hours, produces out of the oil from 26 to 47 per cent. of a white crystalline substance, which subsides to the bottom of a brown, smoking, translucent liquor. Others say that 100 parts of oil of turpentine yield 110 of this crystalline matter, which was called by Kind, its discoverer, artificial camphor, from its resemblance in smell and appearance to this substance. Both the solid and the liquid are combinations of muriatic acid and oil of turpentine; indicating the existence of a stearine and an oleine in the latter substance. The liquid compound is lighter than water, and is not decomposed by it, nor does it furnish any more solid matter when more muriatic gas is passed through it. The solid compound, after being washed first with water containing a little carbonate of soda, then with pure water, and finally purified by sublimation with some chalk, lime, ashes, or charcoal, appears as a white, translucent, crystalline body, in the form of flexible, tenacious needles. It swims upon the surface of water, diffuses a faint smell of camphor, commonly mixed with that of oil of turpentine, and has rather an aromatic than a camphorated taste. It does not redden litmus paper. Water dissolves a very minute quantity; but cold alcohol of 0·806 dissolves fully one third of its weight, and hot much more, depositing, as it cools, this excess in the form of crystals. The solution is not precipitated by nitrate of silver, which shows that the nature of the muriatic acid is perfectly masked by the combination. It is composed, in 100 parts, of 76·4 carbon, 9·6 hydrogen, and 14 muriatic acid. The muriatic acid, or chlorine may be separated by distilling an alcoholic solution of the artificial camphor 12 or 14 times in succession with slaked lime.

Oil of turpentine is best preserved in casks enclosed within others, with water between the two. Its principal use is for making varnishes, and as a remedy for the tape-worm.

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A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and MinesChapter II: Application of Light-Gas (33)

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