TURPENTINE. 37 
while, at the same time, every gallon of mineral or coal tar oil sold as 
turpentine helps to reduce the legitimate price of pure turpentine. 
Neither the honest storekeeper who buys supposedly pure turpen- 
tine, a barrel or so at a time, nor the individual user who purchases it 
by the quart or gallon is in a position to protect himself and the work | 
he has under way against such frauds, as it rarely pays to have an 
examination made to determine whether or not the turpentine is 
pure. 
Only 16 States have laws prohibiting the shipment and sale of 
adulterated turpentine or turpentine substitutes as pure turpentine, 
and such laws do not cover interstate shipments. The Federal Food 
and Drugs Act covers only interstate shipments of turpentine which 
is put up and sold for medicinal purposes. Some other agency is 
needed to protect the producer, the honest dealer, and the small 
user of turpentine against the continued practice of adulteration, 
most of which, it is believed, occurs on shipments which go from one 
State to another, which can not be reached under present laws. 
SIMPLE TESTS FOR ADULTERATION. 
Since the individual rarely has occasion and the producer is seldom 
in a position to make all the tests enumerated in the specifications, 
it may be stated that the producer, knowing the purity of his pred- 
uct, need examine only to determine whether the turpentine is ‘“‘stand- 
ard’? in color and whether it meets the specifications for specific 
gravity and distillation. Should the specific gravity at 15.5°/15.5° C., 
when carefully taken with an accurate hydrometer or spindle, be be- 
tween 0.862 and 0.870 (82.4° to 30.9° Bé.), as is the case with nearly 
all American gum spirits of turpentine, it may safely be concluded 
that the sample will meet the requirements as to distillation. Should 
the specific gravity be found near the limits of the specifications 
given on page 43, the sample should be examined by a competent 
chemist qualified to test turpentine. In the case of fresh turpentine 
which has not been scorched in making, become oxidized by standing 
in a tank, or been contaminated with oxidized turpentine, no testing 
is needed. Such turpentine will always pass the specified require- 
ments. 
When turpentine is adulterated to the extent of 10 per cent or 
more, a careful observer familiar with turpentine can usually deter- 
mine the fact by one or more of the following simple tests: 
Odor.—The presence of kerosene, gasoline, benzol, or solvent naph- 
tha is usually revealed by its odor. Wood turpentine is best distin- 
guished from gum spirits by its odor. The odors of these materials 
can not be described; they can be learned only by actual trial and 
experience. Lack of the characteristic turpentine odor is good ground 
for a careful test to determine the purity of the sample. 
