234 
Refined  Tar  of  Commerce. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1889. 
Sample  number  eleven  on  heating  in  a  test  tube  gave  the  distinctive 
odor  of  lard  oil,  and  this  will  account  for  its  low  iodine  number. 
Of  the  twelve  samples  of  commercial  oil  but  three  answer  the  re- 
quirements of  a  pure  oil ;  three  appear  to  be  peach  kernel  oil,  four  are 
mixtures  of  sesame  and  arachis  oils,  one  a  mixture  of  almond  and  lard 
oils,  and  one  a  purified  arachis  oil. 
ON  REFINED  TAR  OF  COMMERCE. 
By  Clement  B.  Lowe,  Ph.  G.,  M  D.  ' 
Read,  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  April  16. 
Mr.  Mclntyre  called  the  attention  of  the  January  Scientific  Meeting 
to  the  subject  of  a  "  Steam  Refined  Tar,"  put  up  by  James  Good  & 
Co.  of  this  city.  He  stated  that  it  differed  considerably  from  the  tar 
formerly  on  the  market,  and  did  not  make  a  satisfactory  ointment  of  tar. 
I  procured  a  can  of  the  tar  in  question.  On  opening  it,  it  was 
found  to  contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  a  brown  colored  water 
floating  upon  the  tar,  which  I  at  first  thought  might  be  condensed 
steam,  introduced  in  the  refining  process.  The  tar  flowed  quite  freely, 
being  less  viscous  than  that  formerly  on  the  market,  and  also  of  a 
lighter  brown  color,  not  granular,  but  transparent  in  small  quantities, 
and  soluble  in  alcohol  with  but  little  residue,  thus  excluding  the  pres- 
ence of  coal  tar  in  any  large  amount. 
I  called  upon  the  manufacturers  with  reference  to  it,  and  learned 
the  following  particulars  : 
The  tar  comes  from  North  Carolina  in  barrels ;  when  it  reaches  the 
factory  it  is  strained  through  two  sieves  of  different  fineness  to  remove 
the  pine  cones,  sticks,  dirt,  etc.,  which  are  always  present,  owing  to 
the  carelessness  of  manufacture ;  occasionally  a  barrel  will  be  half 
filled  with  a  tarry  clay.  The  tar  is  received  into  a  wooden  vat  which 
contains  a  coil  of  steam  pipe.  After  running  from  100  to  150  barrels 
of  tar  through  the  sieves,  about  a  barrel  of  sand,  etc.,  will  accumulate 
at  the  bottom  of  the  vat  and  will  have  to  be  removed.  It  was  dis- 
tinctly stated,  (and  I  believe  the  statement  to  be  true)  that  there  were 
no  openings  in  the  steam  pipe  contained  in  the  vat,  the  only  use  made 
of  it  being  to  liquefy  the  tar  so  that  it  can  be  easily  run  into  the  cans. 
Mr.  Good  explained  the  presence  of  the  water  found  in  the  barrels 
of  tar,  by  saying  that  frequently  the  barrels  after  being  filled  in  North 
Carolina  are  rolled  into  the  creeks  to  swell  the  staves,  that  then  some 
