Part I.] Puran Singh : Turpentine Oil and Indian Rosin. 61 
known and characteristic odour of the material. When ignited in 
an open dish, a small sample should burn with a bright and smoky 
flame. Its specific gravity at 100° F. should lie between 0*845 and 
0*865. Practically the whole of an one-ounce sample should distil 
between the temperatures of 310° and 320° F. (between 155° and 
160° C.), no appreciable quantity passing over until the thermo¬ 
meter has reached the lower of these two limits, and the thermo¬ 
meter remaining: then almost stationary until nearly the whole has 
distilled.” 
According to this specification it is apparent that the Ordnance 
Department requires highly rectified oil. The Forest Department 
can supply the oil, which compared with the oil of above specifica¬ 
tion stands as below. The sources of the American and French 
oils being quite different from that of the Indian oil, the slight 
variations are but natural. 
— 
The Indian oil which can be 
supplied withou t extra 
refining, i.e., by distilling 
slowly the crude resin 
with 70 per cent, alcohol 
below 100° C. 
The oil used at 
present by the 
Ordnance Department. 
Colour 
Colourless to very pale-yellow. 
(The latter in the case of old 
oil.) 
Very pale-yellow. 
Specific gravity 
0-864—0-867 
0-867 
Saponifiable matter . 
Nil 
Nil 
Distilling below 170° 
C. 
95 per cent. 
Distilling below 160° C. 
95 per cent. 
The Indian oil can still further be refined by repeated distilla¬ 
tion to yield an oil which would wholly distil over below 160° C., 
but the cost would be prohibitively high. 
The Ordnance Department cannot, however, pay more than 
Rs. 1-8-0 and Rs. 1-10-0 per gallon for the Indian oil and, there¬ 
fore, the question of supplying them must be dropped as long as 
Rs, 2-0-0 to Rs. 2-4-0 is obtained in the open market. 
[ 61 ] 
