This experiment in research blogging has slowed down quite a bit, in part because I haven’t been able to do much new research. Getting back into a research routine after a summer spent on other projects is taking time.
Today’s accidental find is the USDA’s Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported, a register of specimens sent to the USDA by scientists, farmers, officials, and travelers all over the world. The Inventory records a surprising number of oil palm seeds (African and American). The image above comes from a 1916 issue, and tries to explain why the USDA is interested in various oil-bearing tree crops that had no commercial future in the US. (Oil palms can grow in Florida, but even in 1916 the economics were clearly not favorable.)
I haven’t identified the chemist quoted, but it’s a great example of the optimism scientists felt about vegetable fats as food, fuel, plastics, and a host of other materials in the early 20th century.
Jonathan Robins 