10 
Gum  from  the  Oil  Tree. 
<  Am.  Jour,  Pbarm, 
1    January.  1898. 
I  send,  also,  a  sample  of  Siam  gum,  which  contains  only  4  per 
cent,  of  impurities,  mainly  bark.  The  liquid  benzoin  made  from 
this  gum  is  lighter  in  color,  and  has  a  more  delicate  aroma,  than 
that  made  from  the  Sumatra  variety.  But  the  high  cost  of  the  Siam 
gum  militates  against  its  general  use.  A  sample  of  the  Siam  ben- 
zoinated  oil  is  submitted. 
To  make  benzoinated  lard,  I  use  the  following  formula : 
Grammes. 
Liquid  benzoin   15 
White  wax  20 
Dehydrated  lard   965 
Melt  the  lard  and  the  wax  by  heating  with  steam  heat  to  elimi- 
nate water ;  add  the  liquid  benzoin,  and  stir  until  cold.  During 
warm  weather  it  will  doubtless  be  advisable  to  replace  a  part  (5  per 
cent.)  of  the  lard  with  white  wax,  as  directed  by  the  U.  S.  Pharma- 
copoeia in  its  process  for  making  "  Adeps  Benzoinatus." 
Benzoinated  lard  thus  made  can  be  prepared  in  a  very  short 
time — far  less  than  the  time  required  in  making  the  official  product. 
It  is  a  yellowish  white  solid,  possessing  in  full  the  characteristic  odor 
of  the  volatile  proximate  principles  of  benzoin.  It  can  be  made 
and  sold  for  18  cents  a  pound,  and  less  for  larger  quantities. 
Fourth  and  Race  Streets,  Philadelphia,  December,  1897. 
v 
A  CONTRIBUTION  TO  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE 
GUM  FROM  THE  OIL  TREE. 
By  Charles  W.  Dirmitt. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy.    No.  172. 
This  substance  is  obtained  by  tapping  the  trunk  of  Prioria  copai- 
fera.  Grisebach  describes  the  tree  in  his  Flora  of  the  British  West 
Indies  as  a  new  genus,  and  named  it  after  Dr.  Alexander  Prior,  who 
possessed  a  very  large  private  collection  of  Jamaica  plants,  con- 
stantly referred  to  in  the  Flora. 
The  tree  attains  the  height  of  80  feet,  and  measures  about  20 
feet  in  circumference  near  the  base.  It  is  known  as  the  "  oil  tree" 
in  the  Bath  district,  and  has  been  described  by  Mr.  William  Faw- 
cett  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Botanical  Department,  Jamaica,  Vol.  IV, 
page  77. 
