ON  BURGUNDY  PITCH. 
549 
a  weak,  terebinthinous  odor,  not  one  possessing  the  fragrance  of 
true  Burgundy  pitch.  All  are  free  from  bits  of  stick  and  such 
like  impurities,  which  are  frequently  found  in  the  genuine  drug. 
I  am  not  in  the  secret  of  the  manufacture  of  this  artificial 
Burgundy  pitch,  for  which,  indeed,  each  maker  must  have  his 
own  formula.  According  to  common  report,  however,  it  is  formed 
by  melting  together  common  resin  with  palm  oil,  or  some  other 
fat,  water  being  stirred  into  the  mixture  to  produce  an  opaque 
appearance.  In  examining  the  characters  of  genuine  and  spuri- 
ous Burgundy  pitch,  I  have  noted  the  following  differences  : — 
True  Burgundy  Pitch.  Artificial  Burgundy  Pitch. 
Color,  dull  yellowish  brown  ;  Color  usually  more  brilliant  than 
fracture,  shining,  conchoidal,  that  of  the  true  Burgundy 
translucent ;  some  samples  pitch, 
contain  much  water,  and  are 
opaque,  and  of  a  dull  grey 
color,  and  require  straining 
to  free  them  from  impurities.  Odor  weak  and  hardly  aromatic. 
Odor  peculiarly  aromatic. 
Not  wholly  soluble  in  alcohol  Still  less  completely  soluble  in 
of  -838,  but  leaves  a  small  alcohol  of  -838. 
amount  of  fine  white  floccu- 
lent  matter. 
Placed  in  contact  with  double  Similarly  treated  forms  a  turbid 
its  weight  of  glacial  acetic  mixture,  which  soon  separates 
acid  in  a  vial,  is  dissolved  into  two  layers, — a  thick  oily 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  liquid  above,  and  a  bright 
amount  of  flocculent  matter.  solution  below. 
The  foregoing  characters  apply  to  most  of  the  artificial  Bur- 
gundy pitch  which  I  have  examined,  and  may  be  useful,  so  far 
as  they  go,  for  distinguishing  the  genuine  from  the  spurious. 
The  odor  of  true  Burgundy  pitch  is  in  itself  an  excellent  crite- 
rion which  cannot  be  conveyed  by  description.  Solubility  in 
glacial  acetic  acid  serves  to  reveal  the  presence  of  fatty  matter, 
which  is  a  common,  perhaps  an  essential  ingredient  in  the  artifi- 
cial Burgundy  pitch  made  in  this  country. 
From  what  has  preceded  may  be  deduced  the  following 
