EXTRACTS. — NATURAL HISTORY. 717 
Experiments on :^BPj^,'(.|)\[4f5; .ifF* Vegetable Wax.-t^j^J. , Qppei;man u 
states, that the yfigetaible ,i(Pia:^.qf ,tjip,,(liast Indies is of a yello^y^^i^ wUitq colour, 
transparent at the edg^s,, pipre brittle and greasy to the touch, bi^t Ifgs , compact 
than bees' wax. Its taste is raoxcid when it has been mastiq^ite^^pme time :, ijtp 
sp. gr. 0. 97 ; at 124 deg. Fahr. it melts^ remains fluid at 112 deg. and <;olidi,f\e^ 
at 109 deg. It is soluble both in spirit and in aether; the forajjer solution soji-) 
difies in cooling, while the latter merely, deposits light flocks Japajji vygjc, yielded 
by analysis, cnB/olbrnJ fm/iditi JyiiBoa won 
Carbon.. jf43^.^„,,^^^P[ 70,9683,,^ „,^yY ^hiiloaoI^O 
Hydrogeii-.. .^ 12,0/28 ., , 
Oxvgenl . . .'. . .7777 le.S^Sg''-" 
• i-M ..r,r u.,..(.,.,rI7/ 
100,0000 :, f,.,^, . 
Brazilian Wax very closely resembles the foregoing : thei^ )ealOjUi^,,copsi^e^(<jPj) 
and o4our almost the ?ame ; the Brazilian is however distinguished by, the, yj^l-^ 
owish brown peljicle with which it is covered : it fuses at 120 d,^g, siiicj solidifies 
lat 113 deg. The spirituous aaid^thewal solutions resemble tho^^^p^^.the Japan 
wax. Brazilian wax gave l)y ^ij^ly^g^, , joauci 
Carbon..,,,,., ,^I. ..^^ 72,8788 , r> 
Hydrogen... J. -,...„ 12,0297 
Oxygen.. . .......■'. 15,0915 
SAvn -.ro(.^ 100,0000 
Bleached and purified i.^pes^ wax is( harder than the foregoing : but the vege- 
table wax, dissolved in four parts of oil, gives a compound which is three times 
firmer than that obtained with the same quantities of bees' wax and oil ; but the 
latter gives greater consistency to fat than the former. '^i' .in- );i^i. i 
Alcohol, even when hot, dissolves bees' wax with difficulty; tJi,^i^Ql]ution soli- 
difies by cooling, and yields a white granular transparent mass, ^ther when 
boiling forms a clear solution of bees' wax, which becomes turbid by spontane- 
ous evaporation ; it afterwards thickens, and the wax when separated, appears to 
have suffered no change. Caustic. soda atjfirst niej'e|y,;goftens bees' wax, but af- 
terwards converts it into soap, though not so readily as the vegetable wax. By 
III! M-/;n^ ob Yodt ^i-^'^' '(' iMil'-^ih' 9h'[i-JuB' \Uh'iaa^ML2J^i'.iioil bio ban allim 
j;-jq rioua -i9vo b'^'Oxygen... .(1\ i^^iLI'-iVK'i'liH^. "5*^364^" <8n9f>iBg ni'iairfa 
fii 'lo ijsd aiiqnijsv r- r^doVi. qod«iff r/Uumirtr^h—nrf ii -jai-ztmai basi 
100 0000 
sld^bmnol ariJ raoil Uvn-jhih yf niJnH aidjcd 1u ,junj5'jTj i>:>lcmisd \-i3v a ?i sib 
•b..'.f)„i bm; ..,[d£l«_u blUJ 4?^n-MPh-JPS«PM\,.a-A „i ,1,i., h.nfu.-,-,!,,.. j.9bi 
The Esquimaux Lake, North America. — This lake is said to extend from 
ijorth to south more than one hundred and fifty miles, and about the same from 
east to west. It is reported to be full of islands, to be every where brackish, 
and to receive two large rivers besides the eastern branch of the Mackenzie. It 
rnay be plausibly conjectured, that the alluvial materials brought down by tp?, 
Mackenzie, and other rivers have gradually formed a barrier of islands and 
shoals, which by preventing the free access of the tide,^ enables the fresh wafer to 
maintain the predominance behind it. The action of the waves of the sea hi^s a 
tendency the height of the barrier, while the currents of the rivers and the ebb' 
tide preserve, jth^ jdepf;h fit t^e lake:. A grea^. formation of wood coal will, no 
doubt, be ultimately formed by the immense quantities of drift timber deposit^ 
on the borders of this lake. — J. Rennie. — Maif. Nat. Hisf. 
