820 FOODS AND FOOD ADULTERANTS. 



as beeswax, and especially when he is called on to detect an adulterant 

 which has been added to the extent of only 5 or 10 per cent. In such 

 cases it is only after a thorough trial of all the approved methods of 

 analysis that he is able to express an opinion which carries a reasonable 

 degree of assurance. In the classification of the abstracts three catego- 

 ries have been made. 



The first includes the different kinds of wax, their properties, meth- 

 ods of preparation, bleaching, etc. 



The second embraces methods of the qualitative examination of waxes. 



The third includes the methods of the quantitative analyses of waxes 

 and their adulterants. 



Many of the abstracts contain matter that belong to two or even all 

 three of the above classes. These are placed according to the relative 

 importance of their contents. 



4 



KINDS AND PROPERTIES OF WAX. 

 EGYPTIAN WAX.* 



This wax occurs in commerce as irregular cakes of a dirty light yellow color. The 

 specific gravity is 0.955. A solution of 5 grams of wax in 5 cc. of chloroform, made 

 by warming the two in a test tube, remained clear for an hour and then deposited 

 granules, and the upper third became cloudy, though the lower remained clear for 

 twelve hours. Although this reaction indicated the presence of vegetable wax, other 

 tests gave no evidence of its presence. Tests for rosin gave negative results. Egyp- 

 tian wax differs from Bohemian in that the chloroform solution does not remain 

 clear, and that when it is boiled with dilute alcohol it gives a filtrate which becomes 

 cloudy and that it is more easily bleached. The author found that some wax can- 

 dles sent him for analysis contained Egyptian wax. 



VEGETABLE WAX.t 



This name, which formerly covered palm, carnauba, myrtle, and Japan wax, is now 

 used to signify a kind of fat coming from India, which is no doubt the product of a 

 kind of bassia. These fats, which are obtained in great quantities in India and parts 

 of Africa, bear a number of different names. Galam butter, Bambuc butter, Bam- 

 bara butter, or Shea butter is said to be obtained from the seeds of Bassia parkerii (ac- 

 cording to some from Bassia butyracea) ; Bassia oil, or Illipe oil, from the seeds of the 

 Indian mahwah or butter tree; Bassia latifolia and longifolia also give similar fats. 

 The fat imported into Germany has an uupleasant rancid taste and a greenish color, 

 soon disappearing under the influence of light. Under the microscope are seen in 

 the green amorphous mass numerous crystalline granules. In places these crystals are 

 so well developed that the fatty character disappears. The melting point of the 

 amorphous mass is 153.6; that of the crystalline aggregates 55.6. Specific gravity is 

 0.9474. It is only slightly soluble in alcohol. Boiling absolute alcohol extracted 

 1.68 per cent; cold, 0.83 per cent. The chemical composition has been found very 

 variable. O. Henry found it to consist principally of stearin ; Pelouze and Bourdet 

 mostly of olein. Buff found no palmitic acid. Thomson and Wood found a new 

 acid, " bassiac," with a melting point of 70. According to Valenta, the fat from 

 liaxxia longifolia gave a mixture of fatty acids consisting of 63.49 per cent oleic and 

 36.51 per cent of a solid fatty acid of 62 melting point, probably mostly palmitic. 



* K.Labler, Rundschau, 10, 289; abs. Chem. Centralblatt, 1884,497. 

 t M. Buchner, Chem. Centralblatt, 1884, 257. 



