20 
Adulterated  Japan  Wax. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    January,  1897. 
this  substance  has  largely  increased  during  the  past  few  years,  as 
(owing  to  its  low  price)  it  replaces  beeswax  in  many  industries. 
As  imported,  it  is  usually  in  the  form  of  rectangular  blocks  or 
cakes,  weighing  several  pounds  each  ;  it  possesses  a  yellowish-white 
color  (becoming  darker  after  age  and  exposure)  and  a  somewhat 
rancid  odor.  The  characteristics,  taken  from  recent  authorities,  are 
as  follows  :  Specific  gravity,  about  o  975  to  0  980 ;  melting  point, 
about  540  C;  saponification  number,  about  222. 
The  fraud  was  detected  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  and,  since 
that  time,  besides  the  number  of  cases  enumerated,  several  samples 
have  been  offered  for  purchase,  identical  in  the  character  and  extent 
of  the  adulteration  ;  thus  showing  that  the  quantity  in  the  market 
is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  amount  named. 
In  every  case  the  wax  was  purchased  from  agents  or  brokers  in 
this  country,  direct  importations,  up  to  the  present  time,  being  free 
from  admixture.  The  quotation  :  "  For  ways  that  are  dark  and  for 
tricks  that  are  vain,"  can  also  be  applied  to  individuals  of  Caucasian 
descent. 
The  appearance  of  the  sophisticated  product  differed  slightly  from 
that  of  the  genuine  wax.  The  specific  gravity  was  slightly  higher, 
and  a  difference  was  noticed  in  this  respect  when  cakes  of  each  were 
compared  ;  the  adulterated  wax  was,  in  most  instances,  free  from  the 
peculiar  network  of  minute  cracks  which  usually  cover  the  surface 
of  a  cake  of  pure  Japan  wax.  Upon  close  examination  of  a  freshly 
fractured  cake,  a  variation  or  gradation  in  its  internal  structure  was 
observed ;  this  was  due  to  the  settling  out  of  the  starch  while  the 
wax  cooled.  The  quickest  and  most  effective  method  found  for  dis- 
tinguishing between  a  pure  and  an  impure  wax  is  as  follows  :  A 
cake  is  fractured  and  the  freshly  exposed  surface  is  scraped  slightly 
with  a  knife ;  upon  the  application  of  several  drops  of  iodine-test 
solution  the  adulterated  article  turns  darker,  becoming  deep  bluish 
black  after  fifteen  minutes'  time.  The  pure  wax  shows  no  alteration 
whatever,  nor  any  coloration,  excepting  that  which  is  produced  by 
the  iodine  solution  alone. 
Samples  for  the  determination  of  the  constants  were  obtained  by 
taking  sections  squarely  across  the  cake,  as  the  presence  of  different 
proportions  of  starch  in  the  upper  and  lower  portions  of  a  cake 
would  produce  varying  results  were  the  samples  taken  otherwise. 
The  averages  of  the  constants  obtained  from  four  samples  are  as 
