OILS 285 



fine toilet soaps and for various other purposes. Lemon grass 

 oil is also called verbena oil. Several other species of An- 

 dropogon yield oils which have been used for similar pur- 

 poses. This is particularly true of A. muricatus, A. odorati4S, 

 A. laniger, and A. martini. From the latter species Palma- 

 rosa oil or Indian geranium oil is derived. The United States 

 imports about 890,000 pounds of citronella and lemon grass 

 oils annually. Recently the cultivation of lemon grass for the 

 production of oil has reached large proportions in- Uganda. 

 The oil obtained from Uganda, however, is thus far inferior 

 to the East Indian product. 



Eucalyptus oil is derived chiefly from E. globulus and E. 

 citriodora. These trees are native to Australia but are now 

 widely cultivated throughout the Tropics and subtropics, in- 

 cluding California and the Southern States. Oil has been 

 produced from more than 100 species of eucalyptus and the 

 oil from these different sources has been found upon ex- 

 amination to differ somewhat according to the species from 

 which it is derived. Blue gum (E. globulus} is, however, the 

 chief commercial source of eucalyptus oil and is taken as a 

 standard. The fresh leaves from this tree yield about I per 

 cent, of oil which is rich in eucalyptol, the active medicinal 

 principle of the oil. Eucalyptus oil is widely used for med- 

 ical purposes, especially as a nasal oil spray. The oil from 

 certain other species of eucalyptus has been used to some ex- 

 tent in scenting soaps and other toilet articles. This is par- 

 ticularly true of E. citriodora, the leaves of which yield a pale 

 yellow oil with the strong odor characteristic of citronella 

 grass. Eucalyptus oil is in all cases obtained by distillation 

 of the leaves. 



Sandal wood oil is derived from the wood of Santalum album, 

 the true sandalwood tree, native of India, especially in My- 

 sore, Coimbatore, and Malabar. Upon distillation the wood 

 yellow color and of a thick molasses-like consistency. It is 

 yields 1.5 to 6 per cent, of oil. Sandalwood oil is of a pale 



