f — 107 — 



The Russian Pharmaceutical Journal (1912, Mos. 1 to 6) 1 ) contains a 

 series of articles in the Russian language by J. K. Maisit on "Investiga- 

 tions into the heart-sap of the Pine, Spruce and Fir in Russia, and in 

 Turpentine oil from White Pine Resin (Pinus silvestris, L.)". The author 

 was good enough to inform us that these articles would shortly also be 

 published in German. From an extract which he sent us at the same 

 time we take the following: The common pine has been utilised for resin 

 in Russia since the year 1780; colophony and turpentine oil being like- 

 wise produced, although not in large quantities. This turpentine oil is 

 known in Russia by a term which, literally translated, signifies "sulphur 

 turpentine oil". 



The first part of Maisit's work describes the experiments in the eco- 

 nomic production of resin which have been carried out in Russia by va- 

 rious investigators, including the author himself. The second part is 

 chiefly devoted to Russian turpentine oil. This oil is as yet little known, 

 to which must be added the fact that pine tar oils are also brought 

 into trade in Russia under the name of turpentine oil. 



Maisit states that Russian turpentine oil contains the following con- 

 stituents: d-pinene, small quantities of acetone, dipentene, Mimonene, 

 i-sylvestrene (m. p. of the inactive hydrochloride 72 to 73°), and d-terpineol. 



Our Report of October 1910 contained on p. 140 an abstract of a paper 

 by C. T. Kingzett and R. C. Woodcock on the formation of formic- and 

 acetic acids by the atmospheric oxidation of turpentine oil. The authors 

 have continued their investigations 2 ) and have observed that, when tur- 

 pentine oil is exposed to atmospheric oxidation hydrogen peroxide is 

 formed in addition to formic- and acetic acids. It is as yet impossible 

 to explain for certain how these compounds are generated from turpentine 

 oil, but it is not impossible that they may be due to the action of water 

 upon one or more organic peroxides. Neither is it improbable that 

 formic and acetic acids may first be formed secondarily from primarily- 

 produced formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. 



Space does not permit us to refer in detail to the authors' numerous 

 experiments. We can only note that mixtures of water and American or 

 Russian turpentine oil, as well as of the hydrocarbons pinene and sylvestrene, 

 ^prepared from these oils by repeated distillation, were oxidised as far as 

 t possible by passing air through them. The resultant quantities of formic 

 and acetic acid as well as of hydrogen peroxide were determined quanti- 

 tatively. 



In the preparation of pinene from turpentine oil, first and last runnings 

 remain behind which, mixed together, are brought into trade and are added 



!) Chem. Zentralbl. 1912, I. 1832. 



2 ) Journ. Soc. Chem. Industry 31 (1912), 265. 



