96 



H. G. SMITH. 



E. paludosa, and more recently from the oil of E. Smithii. 

 They probably occur in the oils from numerous species, but 

 are present in very small quantities, which probably 

 accounts for the fact that up to very recently these sub- 

 stances have escaped observation. The object of the present 

 note is to record the presence and properties of the paraffin 

 from the oil of the last species. 



The crude oil of E. Smithii, U.T.B., from which the paraffin 

 was isolated, was distilled by Mr. D. E. Ohalker, from 

 material grown naturally at Hill Top, in this State, and was 

 rectified at the Technological Museum. The method where- 

 by the paraffin was separated and purified was to steam distil 

 the crude product until no more oil came over, then to sepa- 

 rate the residue and treat it with cold alcohol ; this precipi- 

 tated the paraffin, the oil and impurities remaining largely in 

 solution. The precipitate was filtered off, dried, dissolved 

 in hot ethyl acetate, from which it separated out again on 

 cooling, thus further removing impurities. The paraffin 

 was somewhat dark coloured at this stage ; it was then 

 boiled in alcohol with animal charcoal, filtered boiling hot, 

 repeating the process until all had been dissolved. As the 

 alcohol cooled the paraffin separated, and it appears to be 

 almost insoluble in cold alcohol. The precipitate was then 

 dried on porous plate, finally dissolved in chloroform and 

 again precipitated by alcohol. As thus prepared it was 

 quite white and odourless, and melted at 64° O. by the 

 capillary tube method. It differed in no other respect than 

 the melting point from the similar substance extracted from 

 the oil of E. acervula. It was a saturated paraffin and 

 was remarkably stable towards concentrated acids and 

 oxidising substances in the cold. The higher melting point 

 of the paraffin from the oil of E. Smithii over that from 

 E. acervula is perhaps one distinguishing feature between 

 the oils of the members of the different groups; and it may 



