CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  WAX  OF  MYRICA  CERIFERA.  339 
affinity  of  myrtle  wax  to  the  fixed  oils — at  the  same  time  giving 
it  as  his  opinion  that  the  vegetable  waxes  bear  the  same  relation 
to  the  fixed  oils  of  plants  that  the  resins  do  to  the  essential  oils, 
i.  e.,  are  derived  from  them  by  the  process  of  oxydation. 
Besides  these  early  imperfect  notices  of  the  myrica  wax,  we 
have  more  recently  an  elementary  analysis  by  Lewy,  who  found 
its  composition  as  follows  : 
Carbon,  74-00 
Hydrogen,  ....  12-00 
Oxygen,  14-00 
100-00 
Chevreul  also  examined  the  myrica  wax.  According  to  him 
it  is  completely  saponified  by  potash-lye,  and  yields  in  the  opera- 
tion besides  glycerine,  stearic,  margaric  and  oleic  acids.  As 
will  appear  in  the  sequel,  this  distinguished  chemist  must  have 
operated  on  an  adulterated  specimen. 
The  wax  employed  in  the  following  research  was  the  commer- 
cial article  as  found  in  the  drug  stores  of  New  Haven,  and  was 
collected  in  the  vicinity  of  this  place.  To  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
E.  W.  Blake,  Jr.,  I  am  indebted  for  a  small  specimen  prepared 
by  himself  from  berries  gathered  in  Rhode  Island,  this  enabled 
me  to  test  the  purity  of  the  commercial  wax.  The  latter  though 
procured  at  different  times  from  several  sources,  in  no  case  ap- 
peared to  have  been  adulterated,  as  shown  by  the  uniform  fusing 
point  of  the  wax  itself,  and  of  the  mixed  fatty  acids  resulting 
from  its  sponification. 
The  wax,  as  existing  in  commerce,  is  of  various  shades  of 
color,  from  grayish-yellow,  nearly  destitute  of  any  other  tint,  to 
a  rich  deep  green,  due  to  chlorophyll ;  the  odor  is  balsamic  and 
slightly  aromatic,  much  more  powerful,  however,  in  the  dark  than 
in  the  light  colored  varieties.  These  differences  in  appearance 
and  odor  are  not  connected  with  any  material  variation  in  the 
other  physical  properties,  such  as  specific  gravity  and  fusion 
point,  which  remain  nearly  constant  throughout. 
The  specific  gravity  of  myrtle  wax  ranges  from  1.004  to  1-006 
and  the  point  of  fusion  from  47°  to  49Q  C.  Its  hardness  and 
brittleness  are  much  greater  than  those  of  beeswax.  According 
to  Dr.  Bostock  one  hundred  parts  by  weight  of  boiling  alcohol 
