15 o THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 



tains the oil in enlarged parenchyma passages. It contains much less es- 

 sential oil than Mexican wood, a fact long observed by distillers." 



" Oil of Maoe. — We have introduced an oil distilled really from the 

 arillus of the nutmeg, as is prescribed by the German pharmacopoeia. In 

 accordance with a traditional usage, all oil of mace was hitherto distilled 

 from rejected nuts. The true oil of maoe has, of course, a higher price. 

 Its constants, as compared with the former oil and with nutmeg oil, are: — 

 True Mace Oil, sp. gr. 0.905 at 15°, opt. rot.+ll°7' at 17°, soluble in 2 

 vols, of 90$ alcohol. Nutmeg Oil, 0.865 to 0.920+14° to +30°, in 3vols. of 

 90$ alcohol. 



" Oil of Orris. — In consequence of a proper adjustment of the price of 

 Orris-root oil, and of the fact that it, jointly with Ionone, forms an excel- 

 lent and persistent basis for violet and related perfumes, the use of and 

 demand for orris oil has enormously increased, and that to the great ad- 

 vantage of the perfumery industry." 



" Oil of Eose. — It is proved that the most prominent jobbers in Bulgaria 

 have paid 1,000 to 1,055 Frs. per kilo for rose oil, while this is offered in 

 Germany at M 680 to 700, with the false guarantee of being pure, un- 

 sophisticated oil. The long prevailing uncertainty in regard to the prin- 

 cipal constituents of the fluid part of rose oil has finally been settled. It 

 is now generally agreed to consist of the two alcohols CmHhsO and CioH=oO, 

 the former constituting 75 per cent, of the oil. It has been settled that 

 this alcohol (CioHisO) is identical with the geraniol obtained from palmarosa 

 oil by Jaeohsen in 1870, while the alcohol C10H20O corresponds to that 

 obtained by Dodge in 1890 by the reduction of citronellal and called by him 

 citronellol. In spite of these settled facts the so-called rose oil problem 

 still remains in dispute, inasmuch as a controversy in regard to the proper 

 names of these alcohols is still going on. Most chemists prefer to retain 

 for the alcohol GoILsO the name of geraniol in recognition of the priority 

 of the discovery by Jacobsen, while Barbier and Bouveault call it lemonol, 

 and Erdmann and Huth, recently joined by Poleck, rhodinol." 



" Oil of Spearmint. — The prices of fine American Spearmint Oil have 

 been further reduced since our last Eeport and are now as low as never 

 before. At the same time the quality is an excellent one, superior to that 

 of any other brand." 



" Star-anise Oil. — Prices have somewhat declined in the course of the 

 last six months, but the value in general is more nominal than an actual 

 one, because the adulteration of the Chinese oil has recently reached sur- 

 prising dimensions. Admixtures of as much as 40 per cent, of kerosene 

 are common, and no pure oil will at present he shipped from China unless 

 with tlie guarantee of a definite point of solidification. We specially advise 



