﻿MAR. 
  4, 
  1922 
  proceedings: 
  botanical 
  society 
  137 
  

  

  kurzii 
  encountered 
  was 
  at 
  Thynganyinon, 
  one 
  day's 
  journey 
  from 
  the 
  Siamese 
  

   Boundary 
  in 
  Burma. 
  From 
  Martaban 
  he 
  proceeded 
  to 
  Rangoon, 
  thence 
  to 
  

   Monywa 
  on 
  the 
  Upper 
  Chindurin. 
  From 
  there 
  he 
  went 
  by 
  boat 
  (stern- 
  

   wheeler) 
  to 
  Mawlaik 
  in 
  northwestern 
  Burma. 
  At 
  Mawlaik 
  he 
  was 
  informed 
  

   that 
  Taraktagenos 
  kurzii 
  could 
  be 
  obtained 
  near 
  some 
  jungle 
  villages 
  on 
  the 
  

   Khodaun 
  stream. 
  The 
  best 
  locality 
  and 
  where 
  he 
  found 
  pure 
  stands 
  of 
  

   Taraktogenos 
  kurzii 
  was 
  near 
  Kyokta, 
  a 
  small 
  village 
  of 
  about 
  thirty 
  houses. 
  

   Seeds 
  were 
  collected 
  in 
  large 
  quantities 
  and 
  forwarded 
  directly 
  to 
  Hawaii 
  

   and 
  Washington 
  after 
  the 
  party 
  again 
  reached 
  civilization. 
  In 
  northeastern 
  

   Assam, 
  in 
  India 
  proper, 
  seed 
  was 
  secured 
  of 
  Gynocardia 
  odorata, 
  and 
  of 
  

   Taraktogenos 
  kurzii, 
  which 
  is 
  also 
  found 
  there. 
  

  

  Besides 
  finding 
  Taraktogenos 
  kurzii 
  and 
  photographing 
  it 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time. 
  

   Prof. 
  Rock 
  found 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  hitherto 
  imknown 
  species 
  belonging 
  either 
  to 
  

   Taraktogenos 
  or 
  Hydnocarpus. 
  

  

  Gathering 
  of 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  the 
  chaulmoogra 
  oil 
  tree 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  regular 
  

   occupation 
  of 
  the 
  natives 
  for 
  generations. 
  This 
  seed 
  collecting, 
  however, 
  

   has 
  been 
  carried 
  on 
  very 
  uneconomically 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  animals 
  

   of 
  the 
  forest 
  feed 
  upon 
  the 
  fruit, 
  and 
  destroy 
  a 
  high 
  percentage 
  of 
  seed, 
  the 
  

   natives 
  getting 
  only 
  what 
  the 
  animals 
  leave. 
  The 
  supply 
  of 
  seeds 
  in 
  the 
  

   world's 
  market 
  is 
  therefore 
  very 
  inadequate. 
  Prof. 
  Rock's 
  work, 
  therefore, 
  

   was 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  trees 
  that 
  produced 
  the 
  seed 
  and 
  make 
  collections 
  of 
  seed 
  of 
  

   Taraktogenos 
  kurzii 
  and 
  other 
  chaulmoogra 
  oil-producing 
  species 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  

   trees 
  could 
  be 
  introduced 
  in 
  cultivation. 
  This 
  he 
  succeeded 
  in 
  doing, 
  tra- 
  

   versing 
  the 
  forests 
  of 
  Siam 
  and 
  Burma 
  where 
  few 
  white 
  men 
  had 
  ever 
  gone. 
  

  

  The 
  Government 
  of 
  Hawaii 
  has 
  set 
  aside 
  one 
  hundred 
  acres 
  of 
  suitable 
  

   mountain 
  slopes 
  for 
  the 
  planting 
  of 
  these 
  species. 
  The 
  seeds 
  brought 
  back 
  

   have 
  all 
  germinated 
  and 
  are 
  growing 
  well 
  both 
  in 
  Hawaii 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  country. 
  

  

  Following 
  Prof. 
  Rock's 
  address 
  Dr. 
  F. 
  B. 
  Power, 
  authority 
  on 
  the 
  chemistry 
  

   of 
  the 
  chaulmoogra 
  oil, 
  was 
  called 
  upon 
  for 
  remarks. 
  

  

  After 
  expressing 
  his 
  appreciation 
  of 
  the 
  interesting 
  and 
  instructive 
  dis- 
  

   course 
  by 
  Professor 
  Rock, 
  Dr. 
  Power 
  spoke 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  "My 
  attention 
  was 
  first 
  particularly 
  drawn 
  to 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  chaulmoogra 
  

   oil 
  while 
  in 
  London 
  by 
  an 
  inquiry 
  from 
  the 
  Leper 
  Hospital 
  at 
  Robben 
  Island, 
  

   South 
  Africa, 
  respecting 
  its 
  active 
  constituents. 
  At 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  

   it 
  was 
  recorded 
  by 
  Mr. 
  E. 
  M. 
  Holmes 
  {Pharm. 
  J. 
  1900, 
  64, 
  522; 
  1901, 
  66, 
  

   596) 
  on 
  the 
  authority 
  of 
  vSir 
  David 
  Prain, 
  then 
  Director 
  of 
  the 
  Botanic 
  Survey 
  

   of 
  India 
  and 
  now 
  Director 
  of 
  the 
  Royal 
  Botanic 
  Gardens, 
  Kew, 
  that 
  chaul- 
  

   moogra 
  oil 
  is 
  not 
  obtained 
  from 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  Gynocardia 
  odorata 
  R. 
  Br., 
  as 
  had 
  

   previously 
  been 
  assumed, 
  but 
  from 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  Taraktogenos 
  kurzii 
  King. 
  

   Shortly 
  after 
  these 
  observations 
  a 
  large 
  quantity 
  of 
  true 
  chaulmoogra 
  seeds 
  

   was 
  brought 
  into 
  the 
  London 
  market, 
  and 
  this 
  afforded 
  an 
  opportunity 
  for 
  the 
  

   investigation 
  of 
  the 
  fatty 
  oil 
  expressed 
  from 
  them, 
  which 
  was 
  conducted 
  by 
  

   me 
  and 
  my 
  co-workers 
  in 
  the 
  Wellcome 
  Chemical 
  Research 
  Laboratories. 
  

  

  "A 
  survey 
  of 
  the 
  hterature 
  pertaining 
  to 
  chaulmoogra 
  oil 
  rendered 
  it 
  evident 
  

   that 
  very 
  little 
  of 
  a 
  definite 
  nature 
  was 
  known 
  regarding 
  its 
  constituents, 
  and 
  

   it 
  was 
  subsequently 
  shown 
  that 
  the 
  so-called 
  "gynocardic 
  acid," 
  which 
  had 
  

   been 
  stated 
  to 
  melt 
  at 
  29.5° 
  C. 
  and 
  was 
  employed 
  to 
  some 
  extent 
  medicinally, 
  

   consisted 
  of 
  a 
  mixture 
  of 
  fatty 
  acids. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  results 
  of 
  the 
  investiga- 
  

   tion 
  undertaken 
  by 
  us 
  was 
  the 
  isolation 
  of 
  a 
  beautifully 
  crystalline 
  acid, 
  

   melting 
  at 
  68° 
  C, 
  which 
  was 
  optically 
  active, 
  [a]^ 
  -f 
  56°, 
  andfound 
  to 
  possess 
  

   the 
  formula 
  C18H32O2. 
  This 
  was 
  designated 
  chaulmoogric 
  acid, 
  with 
  reference 
  

   to 
  the 
  vernacular 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  oil. 
  It 
  exists 
  in 
  the 
  oil 
  as 
  a 
  glyceryl 
  ester 
  or 
  

  

  