286 



-HTE TROPTCAL ACRTCTTLTURTSr. 



[OCTOBER I, 1884. 



Its relative solubility in alcohol will determine the pre- 

 sence of turpentine. 



The boiling-point of oleum copaiba? is a very high one, 

 about 5110° Fahr. 



The dose is from 5 to 20 minims, but the oil is but 

 little used in comparison with the balsam itself. 



Oleum CuheBjE. — This is distilled from the fruit of 

 Oubeba officinalis, cultivated in Java aud imported into 

 this country from [Singapore. This drug is causing some 

 sensation in the market, owing to the extraordinary prices 

 now ruling, viz., 18/. per cwt. 



The great scarcity is attributed to the large demands 

 from America, where cubebs are extensively employed in 

 catarrhal affections of the air-passages, in inflammation 

 of the bronchial tubes and the intestinal canal. Oxide 

 of bismuth is given in conjunction with advantage. 



The product of oil from the fruit is about 7 to 12 per 

 cent. 



I have only examined two samples, one of English dis- 

 tillation, aud the other from a well-known German house. 



No. Sp. gr. 



1... English ...-920... Pale green ...Soluble in 17pts. alcohol 

 2. ..German ...'924. ..greenish brown „ IS „ 



When adulterated with oil of turpentine its solubility 

 in alcohol is lessened. 



Submitted to fractional distillation oil of cubebs yields 

 one oil sp. gr. 915, and a more dense one of sp. gr. '937. 



If upon evaporating a sample upon a piece of paper 

 an oily stain is left, the presence of castor oil is indicated. 

 The oil is turned red by sulphuric acid, brown by nitric 

 acid. 



( Ileum Junipee, Bacc. — This oil is distilled from the 

 fruits (galbuli) of .I'luipn-ns cmnnii'nis. The yield of oil 

 from the unripe fruits is about from '25 to '5 per cent, 

 and from ripe fruits '5 to -2 per cent. The sp. gr. varies 

 from '865 to -USD. I wish to draw attention to this oil, 

 and to distinguish it from the oil distilled from juniper 

 wood. 



'No. Sp. gr. 



I Oleum jump. bacc...'. '870,. .Colourless... Warm aromatic taste 

 2 

 1 



2 wood 

 The oil 



wood.. .■860... „ ...Terebeuthinate 

 bacc. ..soluble in 12 parts alcohol with turbid 



solution 

 „ ,, clear „ 



from the wood did not cause an explosion 

 when treated with metallic iodine, as was the case with 

 ol. .junip. bacc. 



Oleum junip. hacc. submitted to redistillation leaves a 

 resinous residue in the still. 



It is very difficult to test between these two oils, both 

 of which, upon long keeping, acquire the odour of tur- 

 pentine. The nasal organ is the most reliable test for 

 newly-distilled samples. 



With its uses we are all acquainted, but it should be 

 mentioned that the oil has recently been tried with suco ss 

 as a substitute for guaiacum as a diaphoretic. 



A very pretty test for oil of juniper is to add to it a 

 few crystals of hydrate of chloral; after standing a short 

 time the colour changes from yellow to brown, ami sub- 

 sequently to green. 



Oleum Santal. Flav. — It is to be regretted that this 

 oil is not enumerated iu the British Pharmacopoeia, occupy- 

 ing, as it does, such an important place in pharmacy, and 

 to a limited extent in perfumery 



The following samples were examined: — 



No. 1 ... English distillation ... -952 pale yellow 



2 ... ., ••• '948 yellow 



3 ... German distillation ... '9-18 dark yellow 

 The last, which was distilled from East Indian wood, 



when re-distilled gave a much paler oil— sp. gr. '945 — a 

 resinous residue remaining. 



Oleum Sassai-has.— I think this oil with advantage 

 might replace the raspings used in the preparation of 

 compound decoction of sarsaparilla, dissolved in a. little 

 spirit, as certainly the largest part, if not all. must be 

 driven off in the boiling. Two drachms would be the 

 equivalent of PI lb. of wood. 



All samples below sp. gr. P090 should be rejected. By 

 adding sulphuric acid in excess the oil is completely charred. 

 Shaken up with water, the oil is separated into two oils, 



Nitric acid 



one lighter and the other heavier than water, 

 converts it into a red resin. 



On. of WiNTERKiiKKY— In conclusion, I wish to make a 

 note of the two varieties of wintergreen oil. The Amei icau 

 source— (iuvlthrria procnmhens—yiel&s the heaviest of all 

 essential oils (sp. gr. 1180). The oil from the East Indian 

 source — Gaultheria punctata — is not so powerful in odour 

 as the American oil. and the sp.gr. is P155. The sample 

 of this oil, only recently placed in my hands, has not 

 yet been thoroughly examined. 



N.B.— In all refen nces tn solubility in alcohol that of 

 sp. gr. -838 is intended. 



The boiling-points were taken in a bath of solution of 

 acetate of soda. Those higher than 2511° F. in olive-nil 

 bath. 



I also tried the JJ-tube all| l mercury, but 

 obtain constant results.— Chemist and 'Druygvt. 



ilid 



>y 



GUTTA-PRODUCING TREES. 

 [The following interesting paper upon the trees which 

 produce the " Gutta-percha "* of commerce has been placed 

 at the disposal of the Society by the courtesy of (nr 

 Frederick A. Weld, to whom it has been submitted 1 

 Sir Hugh Low, Resident of Perak.] 



Sir Hugh low, Resident of Perak to the Hon'Me the Actinq 

 Uah, inn! Secretary, Straits Silt/, mints, dated The Resid- 

 ency, Thaipeng Ldrui, tilth October AW,/. 



SlB,— I have the honor to forward, for the information 

 of His Excellency the Governor, a Report on the trees 

 producing the " gutta percha" of commerce, by .Mr. I.. 

 Wray, Junr., Curator of the nascent institution 'which, it 

 is hoped, may develop into a useful collection of the natmal 

 products of this State as the Perak Museum. 



The collections, when at the commencement of the cur- 

 rent year His Excellency appointed Mr. Wray, were 111 ■■> 

 very embryonic state, anil being aware of the careful habits 

 of observation he had acquired as an amateur of consider- 

 able attainments in electrical and chemical science, and of 

 his zealous pursuit of scientific knowledge in other direc- 

 tions, I requested him to devote his attention to collecting 

 information as to the valuable product known as " i/nttn, 

 percha" together with complete series of specimens of the 

 product, and the trees which produced it, such as might 

 enable the eminent men of science at the head of the 

 Royal Institutions of Kew, Ceylon and Calcutta to botanic- 

 ally identify them. 



3. Mr. \\ T ray has zealously and successfully carried nut 

 the instructions he received, and complete specimens of 

 several species have been made available, and then receipt 

 cordially acknowledged, and others are in course ot pre- 

 paration. 



4. In addition to this, Mr. Wray's scientific training has 

 enabled him to discover that, by tin- wasteful means of 

 collecting, which aionc have been hitherto practised, by far 

 the greater part of the valuable product for which the 

 tree is destroyed remains in the bark which is left to rot 

 in the jungle, so that not more than the merest fraction 

 is made available for the demands of commerce. 



5. The process necessary for extracting the whole of 

 the gutta, Mr. Wray describes as simple maceration of the 

 fresh bark shred into thin slices, or of the bark dried and 

 pounded, a process so productive of valuable results that 

 he considers the quantity exported from the Straits Settled 

 nients might have been gathered from one-thirtieth of the 

 number of trees which, it is estimated, must have been 

 destroyed to produce it. 



6 In Perak, the larger trees hail been destroyed before 



I* The unknown person who first rendered the Malay 

 word gctah (sap. gum, bircVime) by the Latin word gutta, 

 deserves credit for some ingenuity. The accidental resembl- 

 ance of the two words, and the adoption of the latter by 

 botanists, may however be misleading as to the true deriv- 

 ation of the term "gutta percha." Getah, in Malay, is the 

 generic term for any kind of sticky sap which exudes from 

 trees, plants, leaves or fruit: perchah means a rag, bit or 

 strip of any stuff. Getah perchah would thus mean getah 

 in strips or pieces (after being boiled), as opposed to the 

 semi-liquid and sticky condition of the raw substance. — Ed.] 



