COPAL, a hard lustrous resin, varying in hue from an almost colourless transparent mass to a bright yellowish-brown, having a conchoidal fracture, and, when dissolved in alcohol, spirit of turpentine, or other suitable menstruum, forming a valuable varnish. Copal is obtained from a variety of sources; the term is vaguely used for resins which, though similar in physical prop erties, differ in their constitution, and are altogethei distinct as to their source. In Brazil and other South American countries, copal is obtained from Hymenaea Courbaril, and other species, while the dammar resins and the piney varnish of India are occasionally spoken of as copal. By far the most important from a commercial point of view is the Zanzibar or East African copal, yielded by Trachylobium Hornemannianum. The resin is found in two distinct conditions: (I) raw or recent ("jackass" copal) ; and (2) ripe or true copal. The raw copal obtained direct from the trees, or found at their roots or near the surface of the ground, does not enter into European commerce. It is sent to India and China, where it is manufactured into a coarse varnish. The true or fossil copal is found embedded in the earth over a wide belt of the mainland coast of Zanzibar, on tracts where not a single tree is now visible. It is not found at a greater depth than 4ft., and occurs in pieces varying from the size of small pebbles up to masses of several ounces in weight, and occasionally lumps weighing 4 or 51b. have been obtained. Kauri copal is found in New Zealand, which exports large quantities. It is derived from the Kauri pine (Agathis australis), and like the East African copal is found in the earth often far from living trees of this pine.