8 THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 



85-90! of aldehyde; very rare f per lb.; in Germany M. 14.50 



80-85 " " not frequently offered in f " "1300 



7,-75 " " sufficient quantity f " " H-5° 



Aplenty in stock {* ", [] " *£ 



5o-55 



i 



This comparative list bears evidence as to how important it is for the 

 consumer to purchase this article exclusively on the basis of its percentage 

 of cinnamic aldehyde. The plain designation, "Cassia oil," even with the 

 addition of "genuine" or "pure," would not exclude an oil containing only 

 50 to 55 per cent, of aldehyde; such an oil would not necessarily involve 

 a sophistication, although much below a fair standard." 



"Cedar Leaf Oil. — Considerable confusion prevails in American markets 

 in regard to this oil, in consequence of the fact that several different Con- 

 ifers pass under the common name "cedar," the principal ones being Juni- 

 pems virginiana (red cedar), Thuja occidentalis and Chamaecyparis sphae- 

 roidea (both white cedars). Although in common usage, a distinction 

 between these so-called cedars is made, the distillers of cedar oil seem to 

 ignore, or not to be aware of such differences, using the needles indiscrim- 

 inately for distillation. We succeeded in obtaining a large sample of needles 

 from one distiller, which seemed to consist of thuja leaves only, but the oil 

 obtained from the specimen was not pure thuja oil. It is, therefore, no 

 wonder that a considerable variation is constantly observed in the com- 

 mercial oil of cedar leaves. In August, 1894, we distilled some cedar leaf 

 oil from the needles of Juniperus virginiana, collected fresh under our 

 control, and noticed the difference of this oil from all the commercial oils. 

 "We have recently submitted this oil to an examination. Accordingly, true 

 cedar leaf oil consists mainly of limonene, cadinene, some borneol and 

 small portions of bornyl esters. True oil of cedar seems not to come into 

 commerce, the common oil passing under this name is an indefinite distil- 

 late of miscellaneous conifer needles, including those of thuja. Red thuja 

 oil. sometimes met with as'"cedar oil," should more properly pass under the 

 nome of "thuja oil." 



"Oil of Cinnamon. — The shipments of cinnamon from Ceylon, in 1897, 

 amounted to— bark, 2,674,537 lbs.: chips, 1,067,051 lbs. The consumption 

 of cinnamon seems to be on the increase. The cinnamon oil market is 

 threatened by an epidemic of sophistication like that experienced with oil 

 of bitter almonds. We are in possession of evidence that cinnamon oil 

 surrogates are in commerce, consisting of f mixtures of true oil and of arti- 

 ficial cinnamic aldehyde containing chlorine. In view of the fact that 

 cinnamic aldehyde devoid of chlorine can now be had in any rpiantity, it 

 will soon be used for the sophistication of natural Ceylon oil, and a con- 



