110 MR. EDWARD SCHUNCK ON SOME 



0'i8i5 grm. gave 0*5315 grm. carbonic acid and 0*2295 



grm. water 



In 100 parts it contained therefore 



C 79-86 



H i4'o4 



O 6-IO 



XOO'CO 



The composition of this substance does not differ veiy 

 widely from that of cerosic acid^ the acid foraied by the 

 action of dry potash and lime on cerosine, which_, accord- 

 ing to Lewy^ consists of 



C 8o-ii 



H 1355 



O 6-34 



lOO'OO 



There can be little doubt_, I think^ that cotton-wax is 

 identical with the " resin '' which, according to Persoz and 

 others,, is peculiar to cotton, and which is said to protect 

 the filaments from the action of external agents. I incline 

 to the belief that it is formed on the exterior of the fibres, 

 and clothes them with a thin waxy covering (like the coat- 

 ing of a similar material sometimes found on leaves and 

 fruit) , and thus imparts to them their well-known property 

 of resisting water. If it be supposed to be contained solely 

 in the interior of the cells forming the fibres of cotton, it 

 is difficult to conceive by what means any portion of it 

 comes to be dissolved in the alkaline lye, in which when 

 pure it is quite insoluble. Its solubility in alkalies is not 

 promoted in any appreciable degree by admixture with the 

 colouring-matters of cotton ; for on adding to it a quantity 

 of either of the two colouring-matters and acting on the 

 mixture with alkali, the colouring-matter is simply dis- 

 solved, leaving the wax behind. 



The quantity of cotton-wax obtained in my experiments 



