12 
COLORADO EXPERIMENT STATION 
was inclosed ?u a piece of fine canton fiannel cloth and heated in water 
which containen five per cent of sulfuric acid and five per cent of hydrogen 
peroxide. Numbei two was inclosed in a piece of fine canton flannel and 
heated in a solution of five per cent sulfuric acid. Number three was in¬ 
closed in a piece of coarse linen cloth and heated in a solution containing 
five per cent sulfuric acid and five per cent hydrogen peroxide. Number 
four was inclosed in a piece of fine canton flannel and heated in water. 
Number one gave the best results. The wax had a good color and a good 
grain. Number two was next to the best. Number three was not as good 
as either number one or number two. Number four was used as a check. 
All showed improvement over number four. 
One-half of number one was placed in a canton flannel cloth and heated 
with a solution containing five per cent sulfuric acid and five per cent hydro¬ 
gen. One-half of this last sample was placed in a canton flannel cloth and 
heated twenty minutes with a solution containing two per cent sulfuric acid 
and five per cent hydrogen peroxide. Tnree-fourths of the last sample was 
placed in a canton flannel cloth and heated with a solution containing five 
per cent hydrogen peroxide and two per cent sulfuric acid. The last sam¬ 
ple was remelted in the same manner and the color could not be improved. 
The last two heatings did not seem to improve the color of the wax. The 
one before them, number two, gave the best colored wax and the wax had 
a good grain. 
EXAMINATION OF THE SLUMGUM. 
As stated under the properties of wax, the w^ax contains on an 
average of about 14.4% cerotic acid. There are two ways known for the 
determination of pure wax in impure beeswax. They both depend on the 
amount of cerotic acid in the wax which can be saponified in the presence 
of wood alcohol. Neither method is very satisfactory for dark colored 
>vax. The amount of cerotic acid in the slumgum might be determined 
by one of these methods and the amount of wax in the slumgum esti** 
mated. 
All of the slumgums gave cerotic acid and therefore centain some 
wax. I was unable to devise any method or modification of methods to 
determine the amount of cerotic acid in the slumgum. In the presence 
of so much coloring matter the indicators did not give good results. 
Boiling with wood alcohol and decanting off the hot solution and 
titrating was tried, but was unsatisfactory. It was found thac after boil¬ 
ing ten grams of slumgum with twelve portions of wood alcohol of 50 
cc. each there still remained cerotic acid in the residue. The addition 
of hydrogen peroxide to the alcohol and slumgum did not cause an im¬ 
provement. A red coloration was formed which covered the end reac¬ 
tion of the indicator. 
