AND THEIR ESSENTIAL OILS. 203 



The high boiling portions of these oils contained a con- 

 siderable quantity of piperitone, as is the case with E. 

 dives ; thus the temperature did not rise much above 

 2550 c. 



Besides the above material, sent by the museum col- 

 lector, we also received the leaves of the " Black Pepper- 

 mint " from Scottsdale, forwarded by Mr. A. H. Higgs 

 (6.3.12.). This material gave a yield of oil equal to 2'32 

 per cent., and this crude oil had the following charac- 

 ters: — Specific gravity at 15^ = 0*8765; rotation 

 an = -42 90; refractive index at 23° = 1-4787; soluble 

 in 5 volumes 80 per cent . alcohol ; had saponification 

 number for esters and free acid = 29; and contained 20 

 per cent, eucalyptol. On rectification, 80 per cent, dis- 

 tilled between 174- 193° C. and 13 per cent, between 

 193-2620. 



The fractions gave the following : — 



Sp. Gr. at D * *- Rsf. Index 



Hj^o Rotation a^. ^^ j^o ^ 



Fir8t fraction 0-8599 ... —53-2° ... 1-4779 



Second fraction.... 9092 ... --71° ... 1-4936 



The oil distilled from the leaves of the " Black Pepper- 

 mint " of Tasmania, A\ amygdalina, from material all 

 over the island, is thus seen to have considerable uniform- 

 ity in composition. 



EUCALYPTUS COCCIFERA, Hook. f. 



(" Mountain Peppermint.") 



Botany. 



Historical.— This tree was described by Hooker fil. in 

 the " London Journal of Botany " (VI. 477) in 1847, and 

 afterwards by Miquel, in " Ned. Kruidk. Arch." (IV. 

 133), in 1859, under the name of E. daphnoides. 



Remarks. — It is generally recorded as one of the few 

 endemic Eucalypts of Tasmania, and as it only occurs 

 near or on the snow-line does not assume large proportions, 

 consequently its economics are limited. 



