[ 379 ]

Received O&ober 31, 1769.

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LI I. SotMB Account of an Oil; transmitted by

Mr. George Brownrigg, North Ca­
rolina. William ^Watfon,^ ^ '1 2 ) .
R.'$. & a \ q &* A \*

T o the R O Y A L SOCIETY.

G s n t l r m ^ . f| tf, tnoiijs
ReadDec. 14, y ■ ^ H E application o f natural pro-
I dudions to the benefit pf man­
kind, has always been an o b je d o f our excellent in-*
ftitution; and endeavours to extend the hjtiftjfy o f lub-
ftances already very obfcurely known, have always
met from you a Fwonrafele reception.
It is 'with this view, that I lay before you fome
pods of a vegetable, and the oil prefled from their
contents. They were fent from Edenton, in North
Carolina, ,by Mr., Gepirge Brownrigg, whole brother,
Dr. Brownrigg, is a worthy member of our Society $
and are the produce of a plant well known, and much
cultivated, in the Southern colonies, and in our Ame­
rican fugar iflands, where they are called ground
C cc2 nuts,
 I 380 ] ..............
nuts, or ground' pea'fe. T h ey are originally, it is pre-
forhe^ of^ the growth of Africa, and brought from
thence by them as food, both
raw and roafled, land are very fond o f th em . T h ey
are therefore cultivated by them in the little parcels
of land fet apart for their ufe by their m ailers. By
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thefe means* this plant has" extended itfeif, not only

to our warmer American Settlements, b u t it is culti-
vated in Surinam', Branl, and Peru. ;lv
*v has been m en­
tioned, and defcribed, by the botanical writers o f the
later times. Ray, in his Hiftory o f Plants, calls it
Arachis Hypogam Americanus* It is Arachidna qua-
driftilia vfliofdof Plumieri Sir HansiSloane, in his H i-
flory ofJJamaica, calls it Artithidna* Indw utriufque te-
iraphylla. Pifo and Marcgraac both mention it among
the Brailean plants, under the name of .
Linnseus hasconftituted a genus o f this plant, o fw h ich
dfdy one fpeeies is as yet know i^ under M r. Ray's
6 : to
T h is plant, together with a vety few of the trifo ­
liate tribe,5 h a flh e property of burying its feeds under
ground ) w hich it does in the following manner. As
foon as the plantis in flower, its ftower is te n t towards
the ground until i t toucheiiifcgnThe pointal of the
flower is then thrufl into the ground to a fufficient
depth, where it extends itfelf, land forms the feed-
l^eflel and fruit, which is brought to maturity under
ground, from whence it isidugm pfcr ufe.
f T h is planty5which is a native qPw arm climates, will
not bear being cultivated to ^ v a n ta g e W G reat-B ri-
taini or in the northern colonies f b u t , according to
M r ,5Brownrigg, in fouthern climates its produce
 [ 3«* ]
is prodigious; and what adds to its value is, that riph
land is not neceflary for its cultivation, as light Tandy
land, of fmali v alu e,w ilIp ro d u ce vaflqrops of it.
Befides what the negroes cultivate for their own ufe,
fame planters raife a confiderable quantity of it, for
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the feeding of fwine and poultry* which ar&ve|^fond

of the ground peafe ; and, when; |hey permitted
to eat freely of them, foon become fat. j: & *
Mr* Brownrlgg, from whomj a$ I before men­
tioned, I received the oil, confiders the expreffing oil
from the ground peafe, as a difcovery pf his o w n :
it may, perhaps, at this time, be very little praftifed.
either in North Carolina, the place of hisreiidencej or
elfewhere. But certain it is, that this oil was ex-
prefled above fourfcore years ago;,as Sir Hans S lo p e .
mentions it, in *the ficff volume of his Hiftory o f Ja*
maica * and fays,a that this oil is as (gopd as that o f
almonds. It is probable, however, thatJfmaUquatH
tities only were expreffedg and;that even:altha^ time
the knowledge of it did not extend very far. M r.
Brownrigg therefore is highly praife-worthy in reviv­
ing the remembrance of procuring oil from thefe
feeds. I t is obtained, j by firfl bruifing the feeds yery
well, andjafterwardsspteffing themi in ^anvas bap> as
is ufual in procuring oil from almonds or linfeed.
T o have the oil in the beft manner, no heat fhould
be ufed, T he heating the cheeks of the prefs increajfes
the quantity of the oil, but leflens its goodnefs,j where
it may be intended to be ufed as food,oOr as a medi­
cine. For otheripurpofes, the larger quantity'of oil,
obtained by heat, witonfwerequally^well, a
Neither the feeds nor oil are apt to become rancid
by keeping; and as a proof of this, the oil before you,
n which
 [ 382 ] •
which was fent from Carolina in April laft ; and, w ith­
out any particular care, has undergone the heats of laft
fummer, is yet perfe&ly fweet and good. Thefe feeds
furnilh a pure, clear, well tafted oil j and, as far as
appears to me, may be ufed for the fame purpofes,
both in food and phylic, as the oils of olives or al­
monds. It may be applied like wife to many, if not
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all, the oeconomical purpofes with the former o f thefe.

But what greatly adds to the merit of what M r.
Brownrigg has informed us of, is the low price, at
which this oil may be obtained. H e fays, that ten
gallons of the peafe, with the hulks unlhelled, will,
without heat, yield one gallon o f oil j if preffed with
heat, they will afford a m uch larger quantity. T h e
value of a bulhel o f thefe, in Carolina, does not ex­
ceed, as I have been informed, eight pence, or there­
abouts. Thefe Will furnilh a gallon of oil, the la­
bour and apparatus to procure which, cannot coft
much. This price #ill not am ount to fo much as a
fourth of what the beft Florence oil of olives cofts in
England. This therefore ought to be considered as
valuable information, as, on account of its cheapnefs,
a larger portion of mankind than at prefent may be
permitted to ufe oil with their food, from whom it
is now withheld on account of its price.
Great quantities of olive oil are fent from Europe to
America. N ew England alone, M r. Brownrigg fays,
annually confumes twenty thoufand gallons. T h e
-quantities ufed in his majefty s other dominions in
America muft be prodigious. T h e oil from ground
peafe, of which any quantity defired may be railed,
may and would fupply this confumption of olive oil.
It would likewife, I am perftiaded, bear exportation
I to
 I3« J 3
to any of thofe places where the oil of olives is ufually
carried; and thereby become a valuable article of
commerce.
After the oil has been exprefled from the ground
peafe, they are yet excellent food for fwine.
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Prefuming that, a more intimate knowledge of the

vegetable production before you, than what we were
lately pofleffed of, would not be difagreeable to the
Royal Society, I take the liberty of laying the pre-
fent account before you $ and am,

Gen tl em en ,

Your molt obedient,

humble fervant,

William Watfon.

L in , a