[Reprinted from the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 

 Vol. 7, No. 3, page 206. March. 1915.] 



INVESTIGATIONS ON THE OIL OF EUCALYPTUS 

 GLOBULUS OF CALIFORNIA 



By CHARLES E. BURKE AND CHARLES C. SCALIONB 

 Received December 21, 1914 



For many years considerable interest has been taken 

 in California, in the Eucalyptus globulus (Blue gum), 

 a tree which, while a native of Australia, has been 

 transplanted and thrives well on many parts of the 

 Pacific Coast. The fact that the tree grows very fast, 

 and yields a hard wood makes it a tree particularly 

 desirable in these localities which are almost destitute 

 of hard woods. 



Many difficulties have been met in seasoning the 

 wood which has a great tendency to warp and check, 

 but these have been largely overcome by experienced 

 lumbermen and it is now easily possible with certain 

 precautions to prepare from the Eucalyptus a good 



FIG. I EUCALYPTUS GROVE ON THE CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 

 CALIFORNIA. TREES APPROXIMATELY THIRTY YEARS OLD 



clean lumber, which for hardness and tensile strength 

 compares very favorably with oak or hickory. 



In Australia one of the valuable products of the 

 tree has been the oil which is obtained by the dis- 

 tillation of the leaves; this oil finds extensive use in 

 the arts and in medicine and is imported in large 

 quantities annually from Australia into the United 

 States. The United States Pharmacopeia describes 

 the oil as : 



"A colorless or pale yellow oil, having a character- 



d) 



