TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION B. 



(315 



obtained direct from limonene by autoxidation was referred to. The mecbanism 

 of the reaction is probably expressed as follows :— 



CH;, 



I 

 C 



/\ 

 CHj CH 



I 1 



CH., CH^ 



\/ 



CH 



CH,C : CHo 



CH3 

 C(OH) 



CH.. C(OH)., 



I ' I 

 CH. CH.. 



\/ 



C 



CH..C : CH„ 



+ H..0 + 



-2H.,0 



CH, 



I 

 C(OH) 



Cb, CH(OH) 



I ' I 

 CH, CH.. 



\/ 



C 



CHj-C : CH, 



CH, 

 C 



^\ 



CH CO 



I I 

 CH, CH., 



\/ 

 C 



CHjC : CH, 



-HP 



CH, 



I 

 C 



/^ 

 CH., C(OH) 



I ■ I 



CH 

 CH,C : CH, 



+ H.,0 + 



The above explanation is confirmed by the fact that the author has recently 

 succeeded in isolating a monatomic alcohol as an intermediate product to which 

 he assigns the formula 



CH, 

 C 

 CH../^ 



C(OH) 



CH,. .CH, 

 CH 

 CH,C : CH., 



which corresponds to the hitherto unknown carveol. A specimen of the acetate 

 of this alcohol was exhibited. 



Other substances investigated by the author are the active principles of Ylang 

 yiang, Neroli, Carnation, and Oil of Myrrh. 



The specimens shown illustrate how nearly the synthetic products approach 

 to the natural perfumes. A new and much more economical method for the 

 manufacture of terpineol, recently discovered by the author, was briefly referred 

 to. One great advantage claimed for this method was that the ingredients 

 generally considered necessary for the reaction are replaced by much less costly 

 reagents. 



The author then went on to consider the various ways of obtaining essential 

 oils, and showed that the methods of extraction difter for the various natural oils. 



(I) Tui-pentine, the source of terpineol, is obtained from pine trees in America 

 by the process of ' boxing,' succeeded by steam distillation. Venetian turpentine 

 is obtained by drilling holes in the trees, while Strasbourg and Laurentine tur- 

 pentine is still collected in certain districts by means of small pointed cans. 



(II) A second method is that of direct distillation from the plant, used for 

 instance in the preparation of camphor and the recovery of camphor oil frorn the 

 ■wood of the Laurus camphora in Japan. Further treatment of the distillate 

 leads to its separation into camphor, light camphor oil (aiainly pinene), pheUan- 

 drene, and dipentene) and heavy camphor oil, which latter is interesting as the 

 source of safrol, from which piperonal is now commercially obtained under the 



