(443) 



THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF BEEEY WAX. 



By B. de St. J. Van der Eiet, M.A., Ph.D. 



(Bead October 31, 1906.) 



Berry wax forms a rough coating on the surface of the berries of 

 Myrica cordifolia, a common plant on the sea-coast at the Cape. 

 The berries are collected at the beginning of winter and boiled 

 with water, when the melted wax rises to the surface and solidifies 

 on cooling. Some tons in weight are produced annually and find a 

 ready sale in South Africa, being used for waxing floors. 



By warming the crude product a little above 100° C, some steam 

 hisses off, and by filtering, using a hot-water funnel, mechanical 

 impurities such as dust and leaves are separated. The substance 

 thus purified has still a greenish-yellow tint, no doubt due to chloro- 

 phyll, and gives off a faint but characteristic herb-like odour. 



Berry wax is in reality a vegetable fat and not a true wax. 

 Lewkowitsch * describes the "myrtle wax" obtained from various 

 species of Myrica, mentioning the species cordifolia among others, 

 and implies that they all yield the same substance which, he states, 

 "consists of the glycerides of stearic, palmitic, and myristic acids, 

 and a small quantity of oleic acid." Excepting in regard to the 

 presence of oleic acid, this statement holds good for berry wax. 



I have determined certain physical and chemical constants of 

 berry wax, and find that my numbers agree fairly well with those 

 quoted by Lewkowitsch for myrtle wax, as the following table 

 shows : — 



Sp. gr. atl5°C 



Solidifying point 



Melting point 



Saponification value (Mgms. Caustic) 



Potash) ) 



Iodine value, per cent 



Berry Wax. 



1-007 



39°-40° C. 

 4P-45 C. 



214-6 



Nil 



Myrtle Wax.t 



•995 (Allen) 

 •875 (Allen) 

 39°-43° C. (Allen) 

 40°-44° C. (Allen) 

 205-7 (Allen) 

 211-7 (Allen) 

 10-7J ( Mill s) 



* Dr. J. Lewkowitsch, "Chemical Analysis of Oils, Fats, Waxes, &c. ," 1898, 

 p. 542. 



f Dr. J. Lewkowitsch, " Chem. Anal, of Oils, &c. ," p. 543. 

 I Calculated from bromine value, 6*34. 



