162 J. C. Marquart's Beport of the Progress of Pkytochemislry 



of turpentine oil. The camphor oxide obtained by the distil- 

 lation of the roots of Iris for entina, and which is crystalline, 

 laminated, and of a pearly lustre, consists of C 4 H 8 O, and is 

 therefore to be regarded as an oxide of oil of roses, C 4 H 8 . 

 Till now the attempt to isolate the odorous principle from 

 several strongly and agreeably smelling flowers has proved 

 unsuccessful. Among these is the Narcissus Jonquilla, which 

 Robiquet* examined, and from which, by extraction with sul- 

 phuric aether, he obtained a yellow aethereal oil, which is very 

 volatile, and when once volatilized is not easily condensed. 

 It decomposes very easily, even in closed vessels; it becomes 

 solid, and then scarcely melts at 100° centigr. and is a warty 

 mass void of smell, which separated itself already with the 

 aethereal oil, after evaporation of the aethereal extract. M. Her- 

 bergerf obtained from the flowers of Convallaria majalis a 

 small quantity of a camphor-like substance, in part of a ra- 

 diated crystalline structure and possessing a very strong 

 smell. 



What was formerly considered as benzoic acid in the flowers 

 of Melilotus is, according to GuillemetteJ, similar to the sub- 

 stance from the tonquin bean which has been named Couma- 

 rine, and De Candolle mentions it in his Physiology (p. 352, 

 Paris, 1832) under the hyperhydrogenic substances. It be- 

 longs rather, according to our views, to the camphoroids, on 

 account of its volatility ; it crystallizes, melts, volatilizes, dis- 

 solves in boiling water, in alcohol and aether. According to 

 Henry, coumarine from the tonquin bean, as also from the 

 Melilotus, consists of C 5 H 6 2 . 



We have in general very little to remark on the fat oils, and 

 confine ourselves to the relation of their occurrence in various 

 plants, according to the observations of last year. 



M. TrommsdorfF found § in the fruit of Conundrum sativum 

 13 per cent, of a fat oil insoluble in alcohol. It was void of 

 smell, grayish green, thickish, and was easily decomposed into 

 almost equal parts of stearine and elaine. J. Martin || found in 

 the leaves of Cassia marylandica a yellow fat oil, and a simi- 

 lar oil was found by Ch. Schreevef in the bark of the root of 

 Gillenia trifoliata. Semmola** determined the contents of the 

 white fat oil in the tubers of the root of Cyperus esculentus to 

 be 48 per m., and Fleuron found fat oil in the roots of Astra- 

 galus escapus; M. Zenneck found in his analysis of the fruit 



* Journ. de Pharm., July 1835. 



t Buchn. Repert. vol. Hi. \ Journ. de Pharm. April 1835. 



$ Archwf'ur Pharm., ii. 2. 



II The American Journ. of Pharm. April, 1835. f Ibid. 



•• Journ. de Chim. Med. 1834. 



