fO  Spermaceti.  {^A^m^ 
directly  from  New  Bedford,  Mass.  No.  5  represents  a  sample  of 
spermaceti  that  was  recrystallized  twice  from  absolute  alcohol. 
The  above  results  will  not  be  a  matter  of  surprise,  when  we  recall 
that  spermaceti,  like  a  number  of  other  animal  products,  is  a  mix- 
ture of  severally  fatty  bodies.  According  to  Heintz,  even  cetine  is 
a  mixture  of  cetyl  palmitate  and  esters  of  stearic,  myristic  and  lauro- 
stearic  acids. 
The  melting  point  was  taken  as  follows :  dip  the  bulb  of  the  ther- 
mometer into  the  sample  of  melted  spermaceti  an  instant ;  on 
removing  and  cooling,  the  bulb  will  be  covered  with  a  fine  film  of 
the  spermaceti.  Introduce  the  thermometer  into  a  large  test-tube, 
through  its  perforated  stopple.  The  stopple  must  have  a  second 
perforation  or  other  device  for  equalizing  the  pressure.  The  test- 
tube  is  now  introduced  into  warm  water,  the  temperature  and  the 
film  carefully  watched,  and  the  instant  a  hanging  drop  is  formed, 
the  temperature  noted  and  recorded  as  the  melting  point. 
The  specific  gravity  was  determined  by  diluting  alcohol  so 
that  the  pellets  of  the  spermaceti  would  float  indifferently  in  it. 
The  specific  gravity  of  the  diluted  alcohol  being  identical  with  that 
of  the  floating  pellets,  it  wras  necessary  only  to  secure  the  specific 
gravity  of  the  liquid  in  the  usual  manner. 
The  writer  considers  the  acid  and  the  ether  numbers  the  most 
reliable  constants  for  spermaceti.  Adulterations  must  be  most  clev- 
erly adjusted  so  as  not  to  disturb  these  constants,  and  at  the  same 
time  not  destroy  the  peculiar  crystalline  structure. 
From  the  above  accumulated  data,  the  writer  concludes:  (1)  the 
melting  point  of  spermaceti  varies  from  42  to  470  C,  while  that  of 
cetine  varies  from  48-9  to  5550  C;  (2)  the  specific  gravity  ranges 
from  0-905  to  0  945,  at  150  C,  and  does  not  approximate  0  943  so 
rigidly  as  formerly  reported  ;  (3)  the  saponification  number  ranges 
from  125-8  to  134*6,  while  the  acid  number  varies  with  the  age  of 
the  sample ;  and  lastly,  that  the  requirements  of  the  Pharmacopoeia 
are  those  for  cetine,  and  not  spermaceti. 
305  Cherry  Street,  Philadelphia. 
