INDIAN FOREST RECORDS. 
Vol. IV ] 
1912 
[ Part l 
Note on the Distillation and Composition of Turpentine 
Oil from the Chir Resin and the Clarification of 
Indian Rosin. 
BY 
PURAN SINGH, F.C.S., 
Chemist at the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, India. 
PART I. 
INTRODUCTION. 
U P to the present, the distillation of turpentine oil in India has 
not been carried out to any great extent, though the indus¬ 
try is of considerable promise. Attempts are being made by the 
Forest Department of the Punjab and the United Provinces to bring 
larger areas of Pine forests under tapping, and it may be hoped that 
this industry will be greatly extended in near future. Out of the 
different species of Indian Pines, the Indian turpentine oil is being, 
at present, distilled mostly out of Chir {Finns longifolia ) resin, 
which though most abundant does not seem to be capable of yield¬ 
ing oil of the same quality as the resins of Finns Khasya, P. Mer- 
kusii and P. excelsa. The latter resins are still under examin¬ 
ation, and they will form the subject of a separate report as soon as 
the required data are obtained. 
The Forest Department has two distilleries in the United Pro¬ 
vinces : one, a small one, at Kalsi iChakrata Division), and the 
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