— 97 — 



Turpentine Oil. From a report x ) of the German Consulate-General 

 at Calcutta in the Reichsanzeiger we abstract the following on the 

 production of turpentine in India: During the working year 

 1904/05 about 62000 trees in the Forestry District Naini-Tal were 

 tapped; the yield of crude resin amounted to 4260 maunds 2 ) from 

 which 6000 gallons turpentine and 3300 maunds colophony were 

 obtained. The cost of production came to about 14000 rupees, and 

 the proceeds to about 30000 rupees. Owing to the good demand, great 

 hopes are entertained for the development of this new branch of 

 industry. With regard to the influence of the boxing of the trees 

 on their growth, and also on the quality and the weight of the wood, 

 further experience will have to be obtained, also with regard to the 

 intensity with which the extraction of the balsam may be carried on. 



Another report on the turpentine production in India 3 ) on the 

 whole agrees with the above; it may still be stated that in another 

 district 681 1 maunds crude resin were obtained, which yielded roughly 

 1 0000 gallons oil and 4000 maunds colophonium. The oil is said to 

 be of such good quality that it is partly preferred to American and 

 English brands. The Forest Department which keeps the management 

 in its own hands, and will continue to do so, expects an annual yield 

 of 1 0000 to 1 1 000 gallons oil, but hopes to raise the production 

 further if the demand increases. 



Under the direction of the Conservator of Forests in Eastern 

 Bengal and Assam, trials have recently been commenced there on a 

 small scale for the production of turpentine etc. from Pinus Khasya, 

 a species of conifer which is found in the neighbourhood of Shillong 4 ). 

 But the yield of turpentine per tree did not yet come to one ounce, 

 and the attempt had therefore to be characterised as a failure. The 

 bad result is attributed chiefly to the time of the year in which the 

 trees were tapped. This had, namely, been done during the rainy 

 season, instead of in the spring, and it is now intended to repeat the 

 experiments this spring under more suitable conditions. 



Japanese turpentine (from Pinus Thunbergii) has been submitted 

 by M. Burchhardt 5 ) to an examination, in which he obtained io°/ 

 of an essential oil which was fractionated for the purpose of purification. 

 The bulk of the oil passed over at 165 ; the individual fractions boiled 

 between 157 and 292 . Unfortunately no details whatever are given 

 of the physical constants of the oil. 



*) Ace. to Chem. Zeitschrift 5 (1906), 428. 



2 ) 1 maund = 82,287 lbs. 



3 ) Chem. Ztg. 30 (1906), 888. 



4 ) Chemist and Druggist 69 (1906), 961. 

 ') Thesis, Berne 1906, 22. 



