Part I.] Pttran Singh: Turpentine Oil and Indian Rosin. 69 
should, therefore, be made to decide whether the improvement in 
the oil repays the extra cost of using methylated spirit. The use 
of acetic acid seems inadvisable as it would in all probability have 
a destructive action on the stills and other vessels. 
It should be borne in mind in comparing the results of distilla¬ 
tion experiments made in India with those of the tests made in 
London that any variation in atmospheric pressure due to differences 
of elevation will materially affect the boiling point of liquids. 
APPENDIX E. 
Turpentine Substitutes. 
For some time past, attempts have been made in Europe to 
prepare mineral substitutes for turpentine oil. They are either a 
mixture of hydrocarbons derived from coal tar distillation or of 
light mineral oils derived from the fractional distillation of petro¬ 
leum. The “ mineral base ” for preparing the petroleum substitute 
is obtainable at about 15 cents per gallon. It has a specific gravity 
of about 0'810 and is quite free from any objectionable odour. It 
resembles in its appearance benzin, but has a flash point identical 
with that of turpentine, viz., 105° F. This “mineral base ” is 
obtained by “ cracking ” the heavier petroleum oils and carefully 
fractionating the distiHate. The substitutes for turpentine pre¬ 
pared with this “ mineral base ” are being freely placed on the 
market. As a solvent, or as a diluent, they answer the various 
industrial purposes very well. Their cheapness recommends them 
for use in varnish and paint industries. 
The different blends of these different turpentine substitutes need 
not be mentioned here. The subject has been referred to, to show 
that the paint and varnish industries, finding a cheap substitute 
in the mineral turpentine, are not tied down to turpentine oil which 
is becoming dearer and dearer every day. 
Last time when the writer of this Note was at Lahore Railway 
Workshops, he gathered from the officers concerned that after a 
fair trial of these “hydrocarbon substitutes ” of turpentine, they 
were satisfied that their use will be cheaper and in every way better 
than that of turpentine oil. This has, however, yet to be proved. 
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