SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
chairman, with control of the investigations. As the Imperial Institute 
at South Kensington, London, had also been investigating certain 
phases of the question, the special Committee was appointed to inyesti- 
gate the chemical constitution of the resin, and the experiments were 
directed to that end. It is believed that such an investigation is a 
necessary preliminary to any further inquiries which may be directed 
towards the commercial utilization of the resin. The products obtained 
as a result of the investigation are not obtainable in any quantity by the 
processes used for technical analyses, and the question of cost of pro- 
duction has not been entered into. It is possible, however, that some 
of them may turn out to be of special value for one purpose or another, 
Although it may be that the fundamental structure of the resin from 
all species of grass tree is the same, yet that has not been proved. The 
investigations have shown that different substances can be obtained by 
the same process from different species, though possibly these compounds 
are only by-products of some kind, due to differences in the life-history 
of the plant, or to differences in the soil, climate, &. It is evident 
that we shall not obtain a correct knowledge of the composition of these 
various resins until a complete and: exhaustive research is undertaken ° 
upon the several resins collected from the various species, which must 
be true to name. At the present time, very few of the chemical inves- 
tigations can be referred to any botanical species, but only to the 
“yellow” or “red” resins. As a result of investigations by various 
chemists, there is a substantial agreement as to many products which 
have been isolated, but some fail to find certain substances present which 
others have found. The following list shows the great variety of ~ 
products obtainable by the various methods of examination, such as 
Distillation, with or without steam, under normal or reduced pressure; 
by Oxidation with acid or alkali solutions; by Nitration; by Fusion 
with caustic potash; by Heating in sealed tubes, &c.:— 
(1) Acids.—Hither free, or partially combined in the form of 
esters. Benzoic, cinnamic, paracoumaric. ; 
(2) Aldehydes.—Vanillin, para-hydroxy-benzaldehyde. 
(8) Products of Oxidation—(a) By alkaline permanganate of 
potash; acetic acid, oxalic and carbonic acids, and vanillin; 
(6) By chromic acid—insoluble chromium compounds. 
(4) Products of Fusion with Caustic Potash—Resorcinol, para- 
hydroxy-benzoic acid, carbonic acid, pyrocatechin, phenol. 
(5) Products of Action of Nitric Acid.—Picric acid, p.-nitro- 
phenol, acetic and oxalic acids. 
(6) Products of Distillation with Zine dust in presence of 
Hydrogen.-—Benzene, toluene, naphthalene. 
(7) Products of Destructive Distillation Phenol or like pro- 
duct, 17 per cent. tarry matter. The products are not 
unlike those from wood distillation. 
(8) A residue obtained by acidification of an .alkaline solution 
consisting of a complex substance which has been named 
a “yesinotannol.”: 
Oxidation results. did not prove of value in producing a derivative 
capable of throwing light on the constitution of the resin. The experi- 
ments yielded no product of commercial interest except picric and-oxalic 
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