152 A. E. Daivkins: 



to evaporate in the air. The acid crystallised in shining laminae, 

 resembling those of benzoic acid. They were recrystallised from 

 ether; melting point 119-120 deg. (M.P. of benzoic acid=121 

 fleg.) The crystals were only sparingly soluble in water, but -were 

 readily so in ammonium hydroxide. A neutral solution of the 

 ammonium salt gave a buff-coloured precipitate with ferric chloride 

 solution. These reactions indicate the presence of a benzoate in the 

 oil; there was not, however, sufficient material to identify the esters 

 further. 



Alcohols. — Saponification number after acetylation was 24.9, cor- 

 responding to 3.7 per cent, of free alcohols of the formula O 10 H J8 O. 



Phenols. — Shrinkage in volume on treatment with a 5 per cent. 

 solution of sodium hydroxide was nil. 



Aldehydes and Ketones. — Absence shown by bisulphite absorption. 



Cineole.— The presence of this substance was not indicated by the 

 physical properties of the oil, nor could any trace be detected by 

 Hirsch's delicate iodole test. 



Summary. 



The oil consists as follows : — 



d f( -Pinene, 80 to 90 per cent. 



Esters (partly benzoates), 4 per cent. 



Alcohols, 3.7 per cent. 



The oil is interesting as the source of a highly dextrorotatory 

 pinene, but this has at present no technical application which 

 would, taking into account the small yield, make the distillation of 

 the oil in quantity a commercial success. 



The author is indebted to Mr. P. P. H. St. John for the intro- 

 ductory botanical characterisation, and for assistance in collecting 

 the leaves and distilling the oil, and to Dr. Green for much helpful 

 advice in the analysis. 



Addendum.— A sample of Eugenia myrtifolia, another species 

 indigenous to Eastern Australia, was also examined, but although 

 some forty pounds of the foliage were submitted to steam distillation 

 in the usual manner no visible traces of oil were obtained. 



