288 



ESSENTIAL OIL. Material for distillation was obtained from Mt. Welling- 

 ton, Tasmania, at an altitude of about 4,000 feet. It was collected in July, 1908. 

 The principal constituent in the oil of this species was phellandrene, and pinene 

 practically absent. Cineol was present only in small amount, probably not 

 more than 5 per cent, in the first fraction. Traces of eudesmol were detected 

 when the oil was first distilled The oil also contained a small amount of 

 piperitone, and thus belongs to the '' Peppermint" group of these oils, of which 

 E. dives may be considered the type. The chemical results show E. ccccifera 

 to be very closely related to E. coriacea ; the yield of oil is somewhat small 

 for a phellandrene-bearing Eucalypt, consequently E cocci/era has no commercial 

 . value as an oil-producing tree. 



The yield of oil from the leaves and terminal branchlets was o 61 per cent. 

 The crude oil was of an amber colour. It had specific gravity at 15 C. = 0-8810 ; 

 rotation a D - - 35-8; refractive index at 20 C. = 1-4849, and was insoluble in 

 10 volumes 80 per cent, alcohol. The saponification number for the esters and 

 free acid was only 4-9. 



On rectification, a small quantity of acid water and volatile aldehydes 

 came over below 170 C. (corr.X Between 170-183 69 per cent, distilled; 

 between 183-235, 5 per cent., and between 235-278, 20 per cent. These 

 fractions gave the following results : 



First fraction, sp. gr. at 15 C. =0-8561; rotation a D - - 43-4; refractive 



index at 20 = 1-4791. 

 Second ,, ,, ,, = 08705; rotation a D - - 25-2; refractive 



% index at 20 = 1-4831. 



Third .,, ,, ,, = 0-9199; rotation not taken; refractive 



index at 20 = 1-4970. 



The high-boiling fraction consisted largely of the sesquiterpene together with 

 eudesmol. 



The results of this investigation were published by us in the Proc. Roy 

 Soc , Tasmania, October, 1912. 



