Oil of Maize.
Oil of Maize.—Our American maize or Indian corn yields a bright golden-yellow oil, of peculiar pleasant odor and taste. It is moderately thick, and has a sp. gr. at 15° C. (59° F.) of 0.916 to 0.924. It consists of olein and palmitin, and solidifies at -10° C. (14° F.). The oil is contained in the germs of the seed alone. Reckoned on the whole weight of the seeds the oil constitutes about 5 per cent., reckoned on the weight of the germ itself, after separation from the starchy body of the seed, the oil amounts to nearly 50 per cent. It is now being extensively produced in connection with the working of starch and glucose factories. It is used as a lubricant and for soap making, and as a substitute for cotton seed oil. In 1914 the amount of corn oil exported was 18,-281,576 lbs., and in 1915, 17,789,635 lbs.
