Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/95

 CASTOR OIL CASTOR AND POLLUX 87 Europe. The ancients administered the seeds entire, but their variable action, producing sometimes even fatal effects, led to their disuse. The oil is of comparatively recent introduction. The seeds were formerly known in the shops as semina ricini or semina cataputice majoris. They are about the size of a small bean, obtuse at both ends, the surface being smooth, shining, and beautifully marbled. The skin consists of three tunics ; the nucleus or kernel consists of an oily albumen and an embryo, the cotyledons of which are membranous or foliaceous. The outer shell is devoid of taste. According to Dr. Dierbach, the active principle resides in the inner coat ; others assert that the purga- tive principle resides in the embryo. Herat and De Lens have shown in the Dictionnaire des sciences medicales, t. xlix., that the active principle is diffused through the entire sub- stance of the kernel, though possibly with more intensity in the embryo. The quality of castor oil depends on the greater or less maturity of the seeds, the peculiar variety of the plant from which they have been obtained, and the acci- dental or intentional admixture of other seeds before the process of extraction. Both in India and America much heat was formerly employed in the process, and this was injurious to the quality of the oil. During the application of heat a volatile principle escaped, which was so irritating that the workmen had to protect their faces by masks. The French. method is the best. The fresh seeds are bruised, and then put into a cold press. The oil is express- ed and allowed to stand some time, to permit the albumen, mucilage, and other matters to subside; or it is filtered, to separate them more rapidly. The produce is equal to about one third of the seeds employed, and the oil pos- sesses all its natural qualities. Both the Frenph and Italian oils are much milder than oil pro- cured from tropical countries. Oil of good quality is a thickish fluid of a very pale yellow color, the best being almost limpid, with a slightly nauseous odor and an oily taste, mild at first, but causing a feeling at the back of the throat, more or less intense, according to the freshness of the specimen. Bad oil is rancid and disagreeable. Castor oil is much used in the East, France, Italy, and other countries, for burning, as well as for medicinal purposes. -The cathartic action of castor oil seems to lepend upon the development of an acrid jrinciple, identical with or analogous to that of roton, modified by the much larger amount af bland oil with which it is associated. When pure, it is a mild and certain aperient or laxa- tive, commonly operating without griping or sther inconvenience, very soon after it is taken. It is deemed the most proper laxative in many iflammatory states of the abdomen, the kid- leys, and the bladder. It is also deemed most eligible medicine in piles and other affections of the rectum. Its use is liable to be followed by more or less constipation. The chief objection to its use is its repulsive taste. From 15 to 20 drops of pure liquor potass will usually saponify half an ounce of castor oil, to which one ounce of distilled water and a drachm of spirits of pimento or of nutmeg may be add- ed. This makes an emulsion which is effective and not unpleasant to the taste. The manu- facture of castor oil is actively carried on in the United States, especially at St. Louis, the beans being produced in southern Illinois. CASTOR AND POLLUX, called also the Dios- CUEI, or sons of Zeus, famous heroes in Greek mythology. According to Homer, they were sons of Tyndareus and Leda, and brothers of Helen and Clytemnestra, and hence are often called the Tyndaridae. Castor excelled in taming horses, and Pollux in the game of box- ing. Though buried, they were taken from the earth before the siege of Troy, became im- mortal and honored as gods, and sometimes ap- peared among men. The legend was compli- Castor and Pollux. cated by subsequent poets. According to some, the Dioscuri were sons of Leda and of Jupiter disguised as a swan or a star; according to others, Pollux only had this divine origin and the privilege of immortality. The place of their birth was varioiisly said to be Amyclaa, Mount Taygetus, and the island of Pephnos. They are fabled to have attacked and ravaged Attica, and to have brought back their sister Helen, who had been stolen away by Theseus. They took part in the Calydonian boar hunt, and accompanied the expedition of the Argo- nauts, during which Pollux vanquished with the caestus the giant Amycus, king of the Bebryces, and founded the city of Dioscurias in Colchis. Associated with Idas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus, they plundered Arcadia; but in a quarrel which arose concerning the division of the spoil, Castor, the mortal, perished by the hands of Lynceus, who in his turn fell under