Am.  ^oue.  Pharm.  1 
Aug  1,1872.  J 
Paraffin  in  Stearin  Candles. 
373 
We  believe  we  are  correct  in  saying  that  at  present  there  is  not  any 
attempt  being  made  to  introduce  dugong  oil  to  the  English  market. 
The  gentleman  who  exhibits  it  at  the  International  Exhibition  has 
only  imported  a  small  quantity  in  order  to  bring  it  under  the  notice 
of  the  medical  profession.  At  present  the  demand  in  the  colony  ig 
quite  equal  to  the  supply,  and  before  that  can  be  greatly  increased  a 
much  larger  capital  will  have  to  be  invested  in  the  fishery.  With  a 
view  to  fostering  this  enterprise,  (which  in  Queensland  is  looked  upon 
as  likely  to  become  of  very  great  value,)  the  government  proposes 
granting  special  rights  for  a  few  years  if  a  certain  amount  of  capital 
is  invested,  so  that  those  who  go  to  the  expense  attendant  on  creating 
a  new  industry  and  introducing  this  novel  medicine  to  the  world,  may 
have  a  fair  opportunity  to  repay  themselves  for  their  outlay.  Ar- 
rangements are  now  in  progress  to  take  advantage  of  this  concession. 
— Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  June  6,  1872. 
DETECTION    AND  ESTIMATION  OF  PARAFFIN    IN  STEARIN 
CANDLES. 
By  M.  Hock  * 
Makers  of  stearin  candles  mix  paraffin  with  the  fatty  mass  in  quan- 
tities up  to  20  per  cent.  Paraffin  candle  makers  also  mix  stearic  acid 
with  their  paraffin  and  attribute  valuable  properties  to  such  a  mixture, 
as  far  as  candle-making  is  concerned.  The  attempt  to  determine  if 
paraffin  be  present,  and  if  so,  to  get  some  approximate  idea  of  the 
quantity,  in  a  sample  of  stearin  and  vice  versdt  by  means  of  the  com- 
parison of  the  melting  point  and  specific  gravity  of  such  a  mixture  is 
shown  to  be  useless,  as  these  vary  according  to  the  source  from  which 
the  paraffin  is  obtained,  as  also  in  the  case  of  the  stearic  acid, 
since  the  pure  commercial  article  is  by  no  means  a  chemically  pure 
article. 
A  good  method  for  detecting  the  presence  of  stearic  acid  in  paraffin 
has  been  devised  by  R.  Wagner,,  viz.  by  treating  a  boiling  solution  of 
the  paraffin  in  alcohol  with  an  alcoholic  solution  of  neutral  lead  ace- 
tate, when,  if  stearic  acid  be  present,  a  dense  floccular  precipitate 
appears,  but  none  if  it  be  absent.  The  best  method,  and  one  which 
can  be  used  quantitatively  as  well  as  qualitatively,  is  described  as  fol- 
lows : — Not  less  than  five  grams  of  the  candle  are  taken  and  treated 
with  warm  solution  of  potassium  hydrate,  which  must  not  be  too  con- 
*Dingl.  Polyt.  J.,  cciii,  313— 315. 
