120 PLANT AND ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 



By means of combining sulphuric acid and solvents, I was 

 able to obtain several color reactions that may prove upon 

 further investigation of value in identification of the different 

 vegetable waxes. With Japanese wax, the only specimen of 

 vegetable wax I could obtain, the color reactions differed in 

 each test from the substance under consideration. The fol- 

 lowing color reactions were obtained with the petroleum spirit 

 residue. When small fragments were stirred on a watch crystal 

 with two or three drops of concentrated sulphuric acid of 1.84 

 sp. gr., the substance at once changed color to a clear garnet 

 red and was slowly dissolved by the acid, the liquid remain- 

 ing colored; with different portions of the red acid liquid 

 stirred on a watch crystal with various solvents used in ex- 

 cess, it was noted as follows: with absolute alcohol the color 

 was instantly dissipated, leaving a white precipitate; petro- 

 leum spirit discolored the acid solution, leaving no precipi- 

 tate; ether discolored it with gray precipitate; chloroform 

 changed the red acid liquid to yellow, no precipitate; with 

 benzole the red color was changed to snuff-brown, gradu- 

 ally passing to red-brown; amyl alcohol gave a rose-pink, 

 slowly passing through varying tints to a fine purple. So-called 

 pure amyl alcohol was used, and when tested did not give a 

 color reaction alone with sulphuric acid. The petroleum spirit 

 residue on boiling with absolute alcohol and, when warm, 

 thrown into several times its volume of cold water, separated 

 out as a white cloud. 



Under a method by which melissyl alcohol has been ob- 

 tained from carnaiiba wax, 1 the petroleum spirit residue was 

 submitted to a like treatment. It was boiled with alcoholic 

 potash and saponified, the alcohol distilled off and lead acetate 

 added; a heavy light yellow-colored precipitate formed, and 

 on boiling, yellow masses separated out. They were washed, 

 dried, and boiled with absolute ether. The filtered liquid 

 on cooling deposited a yellow crystalline substance, which, 

 on heating on platinum foil, turned black and disappeared. 

 Beyond ascertaining the fusing-point, solubilities, and color 

 reactions, the substance was not further examined. It was 



1 Liebig, Annalen, 183, p. 344, teste Watts's Diet. Chem. 



