356 BULLETIN 898, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
at 15.5°/15.5°C., less than 90 per cent will distill below 170° C. The 
specifications of the Government, the railroads, the American Society 
for Testing Materials, and a majority of the large users of turpentine 
require that at least 90 per cent shall distill below 170° C. 
It is, therefore, to the interest of the producer, the consumer, the 
dealer, and the storage company to take all possible precautions to - 
prevent oxidation or thickening. This can be done by keeping the 
tanks full and by frequently replacing old turpentine as it is drawn 
from the tank with fresh stock. Turpentine should not remain long 
in the tanks, especially if they are only partially filled, nor should air 
be pumped up through the turpentine in a tank that is filled from 
below, when turpentine is pumped in. 
ADULTERATION. 
A wide difference exists between the price of turpentine and that 
of the light oils, such as benzine, kerosene, ‘‘varnish makers’ and 
painters’ naphtha,” and “‘mineral spirits,”’ derived from crude petro- 
leum and benzol (also sometimes called benzene, which is not the 
same as benzine), xylol, and so-called solvent or coal-tar naphtha, 
derived from coal tar. These oils, which usually are comparatively 
cheap, are often used to adulterate the more expensive turpentine. 
The Bureau of Chemistry frequently finds as little as 5 per cent of 
such an adulterant in turpentine, although the percentage of mineral 
oil in samples of adulterated turpentine bought at paint, hardware, 
and general stores ordinarily runs much higher. Even as little as 5 
per cent adulteration is profitable to a dealer doing a large volume of 
business. With turpentine selling at $1.50 a gallon and the substitutes 
at 30 cents a gallon, an adulteration of 5 per cent costs the buyer in 
actual outlay $3.00 a barrel (the difference between the actual value 
of 24 gallons of turpentine and of the cheaper adulterant). 
For some years very few cases of adulteration on the part of pro- 
ducers of turpentine have come to the attention of the Bureau of 
Chemisiry. Less than 4 per cent of the samples taken from pro- 
ducers’ s.ipments have been found to be adulterated. In the major- 
ity of such cases the samples were taken because adulteration was 
suspected by the State inspector who examined the turpentine on its 
arrival at the primary market. , 
From 10 to 20 per cent of the samples purchased by the Bureau 
of Chemistry at different times during recent years from retail paint, 
hardware, and general stores have been found adulterated. Some 
of this was done by unscrupulous wholesalers who furnished the tur- 
pentine to the dealers, and some by dishonest retail dealers. Under 
present conditions, it is not always possible to determine where the 
fault lies. No matter who is guilty in such cases, the fact remains 
that dishonest profits are made at the expense of the buying public, 
