430 An Jccount of a vegetable Wax from Brazil. 



to the comforts of mankind, by reducing the price and im- 

 proving the quality of candles, flambeaux, &c. 



The article, in the state in which it was sent, resembles 

 much that described bv Hamboldt as the produce of the. 

 Ceroxylon Andicnla*; but it is not likely to be the same, as 

 Humboldt's wax is collected from a statelv palm-tree, which 

 srrows on the high n)ountains from 900 to 1450 toises 

 above the level of the sea, and on the edge of the regions 

 of perpetual snow. On the other hand, the Brazilian plant 

 is described as a slow-growing tree, but not as a large one, 

 and ihcre are no high mountains delineated in the most 

 accurate and recent n)aps of the capiteneas where it is 

 found. But a more decisive argument against their identity 

 is the analysis of Vauquelin, published by Humboldt, which 

 shows that the produce ot the Ceroxylon consists of two- 

 thirds resin and only one-third wax ; but the Brazilian ar- 

 ticle is entirely wax, and affords not the smallest trace of 

 resin. The Brazilian plant, however, was not entirely un- 

 known to Huniboldt ; for it appears from his book, that 

 M. Correa had informed him that a palm, called Caiiiauha 

 by the natives of Brazil, produced wax from its leaves. 



' § II. — 1. The wax in iis rough state is in the form of a 

 coarse pale-iiray powder, soft to the touch, and mixed with 

 various impurities, consisting chiefly of fibres of the bark 

 of the tree, which, when separated by a sieve, amount lo 

 about 40 per cent. 



It has an agreeable odour, somewhat resembling new 

 hav, but scarcely any tasie. 



At 206° Fahrenheit, it enters into perfect fusion, and in 

 this state it may be further purified by passing it through 

 fine linen. Bv this process it acquires a dirty-green colour, 

 and its peculiar smell bccoiiKS more evident. When cold, 

 it is moderately hard and brittle. Its specific gravity is -gSO. 



2. Water exerts no action on the wax, unless boiled 

 with it for some hours; it then acquires a slight brown 

 tince, and the peculiar odour of the wax. 



3. Alcohol does not dissolve any portion of the wax, un- 

 less heat be applied. 



Two fluid ounces of boiling alcohol, spec. grav. -sse, dis- 

 solve about ten grains of the wax, of which tight grains are 

 deposited as the solution cools, and the remannng two grains 

 may be afterwards precipitated by the addition of water, 

 or may be obtained unaltered by evap- rUing the alcohol. 



The solution of the wax in alcohol iias a slightly green 

 tinge. 



* Planles E'luinoctialcs, p. 3. 



4. SulphuriQ 



