AND THEIR ESSENTIAL OILS. 59 



ary odour of peppermint, due to the- presence of a small 

 amount of piperitone, and eucalyptol could also be readily 

 detected: The principal constituent in the oil of this 

 species is phellandrene, and pinene is probably absent. 

 Eudesmol was present in some quantity, the high boiling 

 fraction becoming solid in the bottle after a few hours. 

 Only a very small amount of ester was determined. 

 Although the phellandrene shows the laevo-rotatory modifi- 

 cation to be in excess, yet, judging from the comparatively 

 small rotation, and the almost entire absence of pinene, 

 it is possible that the phellandrene of opposite rotation 

 may be present also. So far dextro-rotatory phellandrene 

 has not been isolated from Eucalyptus oil. The crude oil 

 had specific gravity at 15 C. O8883 ; rotation 



H D = -20'9; refractive index at 18 = 1'4819; and was 

 soluble in 3 volumes 80 per cent, alcohol. This compara- 

 tively ready solubility is due to the eucalyptol and the 

 eudesmol. 



On rectification, the usual amount of acid water 

 and volatile aldehydes were obtained below 173 C. 

 (corr.) ; the aldehydes, however, were much less 

 pungent and objectionable than those from the 

 oils of the pinene-eucalyptol group. Between 173-198 C. 

 78 per cent, distilled; the temperature then rose 

 quickly to 265, only 1 c.c. distilling ; between 

 265-282 17 per cent, distilled. These fractions gave the 

 following results: 



Sp. Qp. at Ref. Index 



15 C. Rotation a D . M ^ c 



First traction 0*8713 ... -29'5 ... 1-4782 



Second traction 



(2^5-282) 0-9421 ... ... 1-5048 



The eucalyptol was determined in the first fraction by the 

 resorcinol method and calculated for the crude oil, which 

 was thus shown to contain 21 per cent, of that constituent. 

 The saponification number of the ester and free acid was 

 only 3'3. The oil of this species has a strong resemblance 

 to that of the E. v'u-yutn originally investigated at this 

 museum, and recorded in the " Research on the Euca- 

 lypts " (p. 194). The large amount of eudesmol causes 

 the high boiling fraction to soon become solid ; and this 

 appears to be a distinguishing feature with the oil of 

 K. viryata, because the oil of E. Sieberiana did not con- 

 tain eudesmol in the samples tested. The presence of the 

 eucalyptol in the oil of K. virgata also distinguishes it 

 from that of E . Sieberiana. 



