164  Balsam  of  Liquid ambar  Sty raciflua.  {AMXprUIi, Vml™' 
The  volatile  oil,  styrol,  obtained  by  distillation,  seems  identical 
with  that  from  storax.  It  is  a  carbo-hydrogen,  nearly  colorless,  of  a 
peculiar  aromatic  odor  resembling  the  balsam,  and  has  a  persistent,, 
burning  taste.  It  is  slightly  soluble  in  water,  and  imparts  to  it,  in  a 
marked  degree,  its  peculiar  odor ;  very  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether  and' 
the  fixed  oils.  Sulphuric  acid  has  no  marked  effect  upon  it.  Treated 
with  nitric  acid  it  is  converted  into  a  reddish  resinous-looking  sub- 
stance, evolving  an  odor  almost  identical  with  that  of  oil  of  turpentine. 
The  resin  remaining  after  the  cinnamic  acid,  styracin  and  styrol 
had  been  extracted,  was  of  a  dark  brown  color,  nearly  odorless  and 
tasteless;  entirely  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether  and  insoluble  in  bisul- 
phide of  carbon. 
In  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  for  May,  1860,  Mr.  W.  P.- 
Creecy,  of  Mississippi,  in  an  inaugural  essay  on  this  balsam,  states- 
that  the  acid  obtained  by  sublimation  gave  no  odor  of  oil  of  bitter- 
almonds  when  treated  with  hypochlorite  of  calcium,  and  hence  he 
concluded  that  it  was  benzoic  acid.  Not  having  been  able  to  detect 
the  presence  of  benzoic  acid  in  the  balsam,  and  doubting  its  exist- 
ence, the  above-mentioned  experiment  was  repeated  in  this  case,  but 
with  different  results.  A  portion  of  the  balsam  was  mixed  with  sand 
and  carefully  heated  in  Mohr's  apparatus  for  benzoic  acid.  A  sub- 
limate was  obtained,  consisting  of  white  acicular  crystals,  with  a 
slight  empyreumatic  X)dor.  A  portion  was  treated  with  hypochlorite 
of  calcium,  and  at  once  gave  the  decided  and  characteristic  odor  of 
oil  of  bitter  almonds,  thus  proving  that  it  was  cinnamic  and  not  ben- 
zoic acid,  as  averred  by  Mr.  Creecy. 
If  benzoic  acid  exists  in  the  balsam  at  all,  it  must  be  in  very  min- 
ute quantity,  as  all  the  methods  applied  failed  to  detect  it.* 
The  use  of  petroleum  benzin  in  obtaining  cinnamic  acid  in  a  pure 
state  (a  suggestion  of  Prof.  Mafsch)  was  found  highly,  preferable  to 
alcohol,  which  is  the  solvent  recommended  by  Gmelin  and  others. 
Benzin  dissolves  only  the  acid,  and  on  cooling  deposits  it  in  a  pure 
state,  free  of  all  traces  of  resin  and  coloring  matter.  Alcohol  also 
dissolves  the  acid,  but  takes  up  along  with  it  the  adhering  resin,  ren- 
dering it  difficult  to  purify.  The  acid  is  also  more  soluble  in  alcohol 
than  in  benzin,  and  hence  the  loss  in  the  mother  liquid  is  greater. 
*  See  also  Prof.  Procter's  paper  in  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy* 
1866,  p.  37. 
