ON BURGUNDY PITCH. 
165 
shining orconchoidal fracture. Some exhibit when broken numerous cells con¬ 
taining air or water; others are more compact. All are more or less opaque, 
but become transparent on the surface in the course of time by the loss of 
w r ater. All the samples have a weak terebinthinous odour, not one possessing 
the fragrance of true Burgundy Pitch. All are free from bits of stick and such 
like impurities which are frequently found in the genuine drug. 
I am not in the secret of the manufacture of this artificial Burgundy Pitch, 
for which indeed each maker must have his own formula. According to com¬ 
mon report however, it is formed by melting together common resin with palm 
oil or some other fat, water being stirred into the mixture to produce an opaque 
appearance. In examining the characters of genuine and spurious Burgundy 
Pitch, I have noted the following differences : 
True Burgundy Pitch. 
Colour dull yellowish brown ; frac¬ 
ture shining, conchoidal; translucent; 
some samples contain much water and 
are opaque and of a dull grey colour, 
and require straining to free them 
from impurities. Odour peculiarly 
aromatic. 
Not wholly soluble in alcohol of ‘838, 
but leaves a small amount of fine white 
flocculent matter. 
Placed in contact with double its 
weight of glacial acetic acid in a vial, 
is dissolved with the exception of a 
small amount of flocculent matter. 
Artificial Burgundy Pitch. 
Colour usually more brilliant than 
that of the true Burgundy Pitch. 
Odour weak and hardly aromatic. 
Still less completely soluble in alco¬ 
hol of -838. 
Similarly treated, forms a turbid 
mixture which soon separated into two 
layers, a thick oily liquid above and a 
bright solution below. 
The foregoing characters apply to most of the artificial Burgundy Pitch which 
I have examined, and may be useful, so far as they go, for distinguishing the 
genuine from the spurious. The odour of true Burgundy Pitch is in itself an 
excellent criterion which cannot be conveyed by description. Solubility in gla¬ 
cial acetic acid serves to reveal the presence of fatty matter which is a common, 
perhaps an essential ingredient in the artificial Burgundy Pitch made in this 
country. 
From what has preceded may be deduced the following 
Conclusions. 
1. True Burgundy Pitch is the melted and strained resin of Abies ex- 
celsa DC. 
2. An artificial compound is usually sold in lieu of it both in this country 
and on the Continent. 
3. True Burgundy Pitch is produced on a large scale in Finland, also of 
fine quality in Baden and in Austria. 
4. True Burgundy Pitch differs palpably from the artificial and may be 
easily distinguished from it. 
The President expressed the cordial thanks of the Conference to the author for his able 
and exhaustive communication, and inquired of Mr. Ebert what was the character of the 
Burgundy Pitch met with in the United States? That gentleman replied that it varied 
considerably, but was evidently of the class described by Mr. Hanbury as factitious. 
