AmbJeZ'i87h9!rm'}      Fraxinus  Cultivation  for  Manna.  607 
fera,  Martius,  indigenous  to  China ;  it  is  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  candles,  and  is  a  comparatively  soft,  crumbling  substance,  melting 
at  37°C. 
Palm  Wax  is  collected  from  the  trunks  of  Ceroxylon  andicola, 
Humb.,  indigenous  to  Tropical  America;  it  does  not  melt  in  its  crude 
state  unless  heated  to  over  ioo°C. 
Myrtle  Wax  is  separated  from  the  fruits  of  Myrica  cerifera  (wax 
myrtle),  indigenous  to  the  United  States,  and  melts  at  47'5°C.  (Leroy), 
•or  at  490 C  (Chevreul). 
yapan  Wax  is  obtained  from  the  dried  fruits  of  Rhus  succedanea,  R. 
vernicifera  and  R.  silvestris,  is  imported  into  Europe  from  China  and 
Japan,  principally  from  the  latter  country.  According  to  the  tc  Preuss. 
Handelsarchiv  "  China  exported  120  kilos  in  1868,  168,636  kilos  in 
1874  and  5,677  kilos  in  1877,  while  Japan  exported  858,683  kilos  in 
1868  from  Nagasaki  and  Osaka,  1,520,571  kilos  from  Hiogo  in  1873, 
and  276,993  kilos  from  Nagasaki  in  1877.  In  the  latter  year  the  value 
of  Japan  wax  exported  from  Japan  was  989,862  German  marks  (about 
$237,600). 
Japan  wax  is  nearly  white  or  of  a  slightly  yellowish-green  tint,  has 
a  sandy,  short  fracture,  an  unpleasant  odor,  resembling  tallow,  has  fre- 
quently a  very  fine,  white  •crystalline  coating,  melts  at  52  to  53°C., 
when  old  is  soluble  in  boiling  alcohol  and  warm  ether,  both  of  which 
separate  almost  all  on  cooling,  and  is  used  for  polishing  wood,  in  the 
preparation  of  wax  matches  and  candles,  and  in  a  castor  oil  pomade,  a 
mixture  of  Japan  wax  and  castor  oil,  which  is  rendered  entirely  trans- 
parent by  repeated  melting. 
FRAXINUS  CULTIVATION  FOR  MANNA. 
By  J.  Janssen. 
The  cultivation  of  fraxinus  trees  in  Italy  pays  well  without  much 
labor  and  expense.  The  best  trees  for  cultivation  are  Fraxinus  ornus, 
Lin.,  and  F.  excelsior,  Lin.;  the  former  species  is  now  also  cultivated 
in  Calabria,  Sicily,  although  both  species  grow  wild  there. 
The  trees  are  ready  for  yielding  manna  when  8  to  10  years  old.  The 
method  of  collecting  is  as  follows:  Horizontal  incisions  are  made  into 
the  bark  with  a  sharp  garden-knife,  commencing  in  the  first  year  on 
that  side  of  the  tree  towards  which  it  leans  (it  very  rarely  grows 
\ 
