THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
MARCH,  1872. 
ABIETENE  A  NEW  HYDROCARBON. 
By  William  Wenzell. 
Read  before  the  California  Pharm.  Soc,  Dec.  13th,  1871. 
This  hydro-carbon  is  the  product  of  distillation  of  the  terebinthinate 
exudation  of  a  coniferous  tree  indigenous  to  California,  and  is  ob- 
tained from  the  Pinus  sabiniana,  Dougl.,  a  tree  inhabiting  the  dry 
sides  of  the  foot  hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  and  the  Coast 
Range,  known  more  familiarly,  however,  by  the  name  of  Nut  Pine  or 
Digger  Pine,  names  seemingly  suggested  by  the  edible  quality  of  its 
fruit,  upon  which  the  Digger  Indians  chiefly  rely  as  an  article  of  food. 
During  winter  the  tree  is  notched  and  guttered  at  a  convenient 
height  from  the  ground,  to  receive  the  resin  which  then  exudes,  and 
when  a  sufficient  quantity  is  thus  obtained,  it  is  carried  to  the  stills  for 
distillation.  As  this  hydro-carbon  is  extremely  volatile,  and  therefore 
much  loss  often  sustained  if  the  resinous  exudation  is  kept  long,  dis- 
tillation is  usually  commenced  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the 
"gum"  has  been  collected.  The  crude  oil,  as  usually  found  in  San 
Francisco,  is  a  colorless,  limpid  fluid,  and  requires  only  to  be  dis- 
tilled to  obtain  it  quite  pure.  It  occurs  as  an  article  of  commerce, 
and  has  acquired,  during  the  last  eight  or  ten  years,  a  considerable 
reputation  under  the  names  of  abietene,  erasine,  aurantine,  theoline, 
&c,  for  the  removal  of  grease  and  paint  from  clothing,  fabrics,  &c, — 
an  efficient  substitute  for  petroleum  benzine. 
In  order  to  determine  whether  it  was  homogeneous  in  its  composi- 
tion, or  composed  of  several  hydro-carbons,  seventeen  fluid-ounces  of 
the  crude  abietene  were  distilled  fractionally,  and  the  several  distil* 
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