166 MR. BRODIE ON THE CHEMICAL NATURE OF A WAX FROM CHINA. 
Distillation of Cerotin. 
Cerotin requires a high temperature for its distillation. The operation is accom- 
panied with little explosions^ owing to the formation of a small quantity of water. 
The distillate is perfectly colourless to the last, and solid, giving, when pressed 
with blotting-paper, hardly a trace of oil ; it resembles in its general appearance the 
cerotin itself, but has a lower melting-point, about 70° C. 
The distillate also contains a larger per-centage of carbon than the substance. A 
portion, melting at 73° C. and purified by crystallization, gave to analysis carbon 83‘20 
and hydrogen 14*22 per cent.; but it is very difficult to raise the melting-point 
much beyond 73° C. At first, from the constancy of the melting-point, I was led to 
think that a new oxygen combination had been formed. I found, however, after- 
wards that the melting-point could be raised to 79° C. ; that is, the melting-point of 
the alcohol, a substance of a lower melting-point remaining behind ; and there can 
be little doubt but that part of the cerotin distils over unaltered, while another 
portion decomposes into solid hydrocarbon and water. I found, in fact, that the 
amount of carbon diminished as the melting-point was raised. 
Distillation of Chinese Wax. 
The Chinese wax is decomposed by heat. When distilled, the distillate consists 
of two portions ; a wax acid which forms the earlier portions of the distillate, and a 
portion which is not acted on by potash, and from which the acid portion may be 
separated by saponification. The soap requires to be drawn off by a syphon. I will 
first give the analysis of the acid, which is undoubtedly the same acid as that pro- 
cured by saponification of the wax itself. The melting-point of the acid may, by the 
methods pursued in other cases of separation from the soap, purification and crystal- 
lization out of ether, be raised to 80°, 81° C., which is probably the true melting- 
point of the cerotic acid. 
0*2613 grm. of the acid gave 0*7555 COg and 0*3075 HO, which corresponds in 
parts per cent, to — 
Carbon 78*85 
Hydrogen .... 13*08 
Oxygen .... 8*07 
100*00 
I give here again, for the sake of comparison, the numbers of the formula. 
Calculated. 
C 54 . . . 79*02 
H 54 . . . 13*17 
O 4 . . . 7'81 
100*00 
