Ii2 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 



matter was extracted from the dry residue by means of petroleum ether. The 

 unsaponifiable matter was melted on the water-bath in a porcelain capsule, 

 and an equal weight of finely powdered potash was stirred into the 

 mixture. Powdered, dry potash-lime was next added, the wax and the 

 alkali were intimately mixed by rubbing in a mortar, and the mixture was 

 introduced into the hard glass tube of Buisine's apparatus. The tube was 

 heated to 230°-250° C. until evolution of hydrogen ceased ; its contents were 

 then transferred to a Soxhlet apparatus and extracted with petroleum 

 ether. The product was again heated with potash and potash-lime as before, 

 and, if on the second heating no gas was evolved, the percentages of carbon 

 and hydrogen in the extract obtained at this stage were determined. 



Four different specimens prepared in this manner gave on analysis the 

 following results : — 



I. 0T124 substance gave 0-3512 C0 2 and 0-1429 H 2 

 II. 01237 substance gave 0-3874 CO* and 0-1529 H s O 



III. 0-1020 substance gave 0-3178 CO, and 0-1274 H 2 



IV. 0-0705 substance gave 0-2206 C0 2 and 0-0867 H 2 

 corresponding to 



I. II. III. IV. 



C, . . 85-21 85-41 84-97 85-34 



H, . . 14-22 13-83 13-98 13-76 



O, . . 0-57 0-76 1-05 0-9 



As all the specimens contained oxygen, the so-called hydrocarbons must 

 contain a small quantity of an oxygenated substance or substances. We also 

 determined the percentage of these so-called hydrocarbons in a sample of 

 Irish beeswax, using apparatus similar to that designed by A. and P. Buisine, 

 working in the manner they recommend, and confirmed the results which 

 they obtained. 





