Correctly speaking it is not a pure rosin, but a mixture of rosins each having separate degrees of solubility.
It also contains some oils.
| Hard copals | will | melt | at | 350° | centigrade. |
| Semi-hard | will„ | melt„ | at„ | 150° | centigrade.„ |
| Tender | will„ | melt}„ | at„ | 100° | centigrade.„ |
Hard copals mostly come from Zanzibar. Those known as animes reach us from Bombay and also Madagascar. The semi-hard are obtained from Africa and reach us in different forms. Those coming from Angora are in the form of reddish balls.
Those from Benguela (Africa) are of two different kinds, one yellow in colour and of a flat shape similar to a shell, and the other of a grey colour and is sometimes called African gum. Copal from Sierra Leone is white and elastic and is especially adapted to be mixed with other varieties in the manufacture of varnish. Asia supplies us with many copals but these are not genuine Asiatic products, but are sent from Africa, mixed in Asia and from thence exported to Europe.
The real copals of Asia are divided, as are the others, into hard and tender. The best
