256 



CINNAMIC ACID 



CINNAMON-STONE 



Cinnamic Acid, C^CH = CHCOOH, exists 



in the free state in the balsams of Tolu and Peru, 

 in liquid storax, and in gum benzoin. When oil 

 of cinnamon ( see below ) is exposed to the air, it 

 absorbs oxygen and deposits crystals of cinnamic 

 acid. Cinnamic acid forms colourless crystals 

 readily soluble in alcohol, ether, and boiling 

 water, but sparingly soluble in cold water. It is 

 not of any importance in the arts, and is chiefly 

 interesting as being the acid corresponding to 

 oil of cinnamon. This oil is the aldehyde of 

 cinnamic acid, and is represented by the formula 

 C 6 H S CH = CHCOH. Although isomeric with oil 

 of cassia, it has a slightly different flavour, and 

 is much more expensive. Both of these oils are 

 employed in medicine as aromatic stimulants, but 

 chiefly as pleasant adjuncts to disguise the taste of 

 nauseous drugs. From a chemical point of view, 

 the cinnamic acid and oil of cinnamon are related 

 to Benzoic Acid (q.v.) and Oil of Bitter Almonds 

 See ALMONDS (OlL OF). Benzoic acid is regarded 

 as C 6 H 5 COOH, while the oil of bitter almonds is 

 the corresponding aldehyde C 6 H 5 COH. On oxida- 

 tion cinnamic acid is changed into benzoic acid. 



Cinnamon is the aromatic bark of certain 

 species of the genus Cinnamomum. This genus 

 belongs to the natural order Lauracese, which in- 

 cludes a considerable number of species, natives of 



tropical and 

 of subtropical 

 parts of the 

 East. Cinna- 

 mon has been 

 in use from the 

 remotest anti- 

 quity. It is 

 mentioned in 

 the Old Testa- 

 ment, and by 

 a name almost 

 the same as 

 that which it 

 still bears in 

 most 1 an- 

 guages. The 

 finest kind is 

 produced by 

 Cin namomum 

 Zeylanicum, or 

 the Ceylon cin- 

 namon-tree. It 

 is still mainly 

 derived from 

 its native 

 island, but was 



introduced into the West Indies in 1782, along 

 with various other plants of the East, and is now 

 cultivated there to some extent. The tree natur- 

 ally attains the height of 20-30 feet, and is some- 

 times 1^ foot in thickness, but the cultivated trees 

 are not allowed to grow higher than 10 feet. Its 

 bark is of a grayish-brown colour, internally of a 

 yellowish red. The leaves are oval, 4-6 inches 

 long, with a blunt point, and marked with three 

 jnincipal nerves. Tliey have the taste of cloves. 

 The flowers are of a silky gray on the outside, and 

 a pale-yellowish colour internally. The fruit is 

 somewhat like an acorn in shape ; it is a small 

 drupe, brown when ripe. There are two seasons of 

 cinnamon-harvest in Ceylon, the first commencing 

 in April, and the last in November the former 

 being that in which the chief crop is obtained. 

 The branches of 3-5 years' growth being cut down, 

 the epidermis is scraped away ; the bark is then 

 ripped up longitudinally with a knife, and gradually 

 loosened, till it can be taken off. The slices are 

 then exposed to the sun, when, as it dries, it curls 

 up into quills, the smaller of which are inserted 



Cinnamon ( Cinnamomum Zeylanicum}. 



into the larger, and the whole tied up in bundles of 

 about 88 Ib. each. The wood when deprived of its 

 bark has no aroma, and is used as fuel. When the 

 bark is first taken off it is said to consist of an 

 outer portion, which tastes like common bark, and 

 an inner and highly aromatic portion. In the 

 course of drying, the oil upon which the aroma and 

 flavour depends, is diffused throughout, and the 

 quality of the whole is supposed to depend upon the 

 relative quantities of these portions. Cinnamon is 

 examined and arranged according to its quality by 

 persons who are obliged for this purpose to taste 

 and chew it, although in a short time it produces 

 painful effects on their mouths and tongues. The 

 finest cinnamon is yielded by the young branches 

 of the tree, especially by the numerous shoots which 

 spring up from the stump after a tree has been cut 

 down, and which are cut when about 10 feet long, 

 and of the thickness of an ordinary walking-stick. 

 The smell, particularly of the thinnest pieces, is 

 delightfully fragrant, and the taste pungent and 

 aromatic, with a mixture of sweetness and astrin- 

 gency. It is used like other spices by cooks and 

 confectioners, and also in medicine as a tonic, 

 stomachic, and carminative. The average quantity 

 annually imported into London is about 500,000 

 Ib. Its virtues depend chiefly upon the essential 

 oil which it contains (ail of cinnamon). Oil of 

 cassia is very often substituted for this oil, as cassia 

 is for cinnamon. The root of the cinnamon-tree 

 contains camphor. The fruit yields a concrete oil, 

 called cinnamon suet, which is highly fragrant, and 

 in Ceylon was formerly made into candles for the ex- 

 clusive use of the king. Cassia ( q. v. ) is the produce 

 of another species of Cinnamomum. C. Loureirii, 

 a native of Cochin-China and Japan, yields a bark 

 which is preferred by the Chinese to that of C. 

 Zeylanicum. A species of cinnamon is found at 

 the elevation of 8500 feet in the Sikkim Himalaya. 

 The constituents of cinnamon are a volatile oil 

 (oil of cinnamon), tannin, starch, mucilage, woody- 

 fibre, resiii, colouring matter, and an acid. The 

 oil of cinnamon is generally prepared in Ceylon by 

 grinding the waste pieces or cinnamon broken oft 

 in packing, soaking them in sea-water for two or 

 three days, and then distilling. Two oils pass over, 

 one lighter, the other heavier than water. Oil of 

 cinnamon varies in colour from yellow to cherry- 

 red, the yellow variety being considered the best, 

 and is most highly esteemed. Oil of cinnamon 

 leaf is prepared from the leaves in Ceylon by a 

 similar process, and is met with in commerce under 

 the name of clove oil, which it much resembles in 

 odour. Cinnamon water is obtained by adding 

 water to cinnamon, and distilling a large quantity, 

 or by diffusing the oil of cinnamon through water 

 by the aid of sugar or carbonate of magnesia. 

 Spirit of cinnamon is procured by acting upon 

 cinnamon with spirit of wine and water, and dis- 

 tilling ; and tincture of cinnamon, by soaking 

 f .*. rf,. 



cinnamon in spirit of wine, and straining. The 



medicinal properties of cinnamon, and its prepara- 

 tion, are aromatic and carminative, and it is service- 

 able in cases of nausea and vomiting, and in cases 

 of flatulence and spasmodic states of the stomach 

 and alimentary canal. 



The genuine Ceylon species of cinnamon is now 

 cultivated in Guiana, St Vincent, the Cape Verd 

 Islands, Brazil, Mauritius, Pondicherry, Guade- 

 loupe, and Java. It yields the best bark when 

 grown on a sandy soil. The name cinnamon is 

 from the Hebrew qinndmo'n, akin to qdneh, ' a reed 

 or cane. ' 



Cinnamon-Stone, a precious stone, of which 

 the finer specimens are highly esteemed ; it is 

 regarded as a variety of Garnet (q.v.). Its colour 

 varies from hyacinth red to orange yellow ; and 

 when pure it is transparent. It is composed 



