07? the Action of Alkalies on Wax. 19 



potash, which forms a soap with the margaric acid without 

 acting at all on the ceraine. Ettling analysed ceraine and 

 myricine, and found them to be isomeric, and composed, in 

 100 parts, of— 



Ceraine. Myricine. 



Carbon . . . 80*44 80*01 



Hydrogen . . 13-75 13-85 



Oxygen ... 5-81 6*14 



MM. Hess* and Van der Vleitf regard wax as a simple 

 substance, which in the common yellow wax is in combination 

 with a colouring matter, and in the white wax with cerainic 

 acid, composed of 



Carbon . . . 81-52 



Hydrogen . . 13-23 



Oxygen . . . 5*25 



Hess states that it contains no margaric acid, and does not 



afford either cerine or ceraine. 



The experiments of Ettling, as to wax being a compound 

 body consisting of cerine and myricine, are confirmed how- 

 ever by M. Lewy, who finds them to be isomeric, and com- 

 posed, in 100 parts, of — 



Carbon . . . 80*31 



Hydrogen . . 13*38 



Oxygen . . . 6*30 



Berzelius, in the third German edition of his < Manual of 



Chemistry,' vol. vi. p. 513, states, that wax is converted into 



a kind of soap by caustic alkalies, but the combination formed 



is of difficult solution in water, and separates in a cream-like 



form on the surface of the liquid ; that this cream may be 



melted to a very hard soap, but that acids separate the wax 



with nearly unaltered properties. 



On boiling wax for six hours with caustic potash we ob- 

 served exactly the appearances described by Berzelius; it was 

 evidently acted upon, increased in bulk, and a curdlike mass, 

 sparingly soluble in water, separated on the top of the liquid. 

 On melting wax and then dropping fused caustic potash into 

 it, a small quantity of gas is given off, and the whole mass in 

 a few seconds is converted from a liquid state into a thick, 

 gelatinous, amber-coloured soapy substance, which was found 

 to be almost entirely soluble in a large quantity of water. It 

 was separated from the solution, in a curdy state, by the 

 addition of common salt, washed, redissolved and hydro- 

 chloric acid added ; this threw up a colourless oily liquid, 



* Annal. der Pharm. xxvii. p. 8. 

 f Bulletin de Neerlande, No. xvii. 1838. 

 C2 



