stor oil of an excellent quality is also made
in Italy; and in California the manufacture is conducted on an extensive
scale. The following is an outline of the process adopted in a
Californian factory. The seeds are submitted to a dry heat in a furnace
for an hour or thereby, by which they are softened and prepared to part
easily with their oil. They are then pressed in a large powerful
screw-press, and the oily matter which flows out is caught, mixed with
an equal proportion of water, and boiled to purify it from mucilaginous
and albuminous matter. After boiling about an hour, it is allowed to
cool, the water is drawn off, and the oil is transferred to zinc tanks
or clarifiers capable of holding from 60 to 100 gallons. In these it
stands about eight hours, bleaching in the sun, after which it is ready
for storing. By this method 100 lb. of good seeds yield about 5 gallons
of pure oil.

Castor oil is a viscid liquid, almost colourless when pure, possessing
only a slight odour, and a mild yet highly nauseous and disagreeable
taste. Its specific gravity is .96, a little less than that of water,
and it dissolves freely in alcohol, ether and glacial acetic acid. It
contains palmitic and several other fatty acids, among which there is
one--ricinoleic acid--peculiar to itself. This occurs in combination
with glycerin, constituting the greater part of the bulk of the oil.

The active principle to which the oil owes its purgative properties has
not been isolated. It is, indeed, probable that it is formed in the
intestine, as a result of some decomposition as yet unknown. The dose is
from a drachm to an ounce. The pharmacopoeial mixture is best avoided,
being almost uniquely nauseous. By far the best way to administer the
oil is in capsules. It acts in about five hours, affecting the entire
length of the bowel, but not increasing the flow of bile except in very
large doses. The mode of its action is unknown. The oil will purge when
rubbed into the skin or injected _per rectum_. It is an invaluable drug
in temporary constipation and whenever a mild action is essential, as in
pregnancy. It is extremely useful for children and the aged, but must
not be employed in cases of chronic constipation, which it only
aggravates, whilst relieving the symptoms.

CASTREN, MATTHIAS ALEXANDER (1813-1853), Finnish ethnologist and
philologist, was born at Tervola, in the parish of Kemi in Finland, on
the 20th of November (December 2, 1813