ON THE CONSTITUTION ETC. OF ESSENTIAL OILS. 313 



They have both the same colour, and absorb the more refrangible rays of 

 tlie spectrum in the same mauner. That from nutmeg is somewhat darker 

 and less fluid. They arc freely soluble in ether, but not in alcohol. Their 

 general appearance, and the action of alcohol, gave an impression of their 

 being mixtures, such as might be inferred both from the results of analysis 

 and from the specific refractive energy. 



A chlorinated product, 4(Cj„Hj,Cl) + C,„Hn, was found to have 'a specific 

 gravity of 0-8685 at 24°, a refractive index for A of 1-4755, and a disper- 

 sion of 0-326 : consequent^ the specific refractive energy was 0-5475, and the 

 refraction-equivalent for so complicated a formula will amoiint to 446-7 ; the 

 usual values of carbon, hj'drogen, and chlorine would give only 385-8, and, 

 making the usual addition for phenyl compounds, the refraction-equivalent 

 would only rise to about 420. 



A hydrocarbon, apparentl}' possessing the composition (Cj„ H^.),,, which was 

 found among the products of the reaction of pentachloride of phosphorus 

 on myristicol, was somewhat dark in colour. It had the specific gravity of 

 0-9515 at 24°, a refractive index for A of 1-5143, and a high dispersion. 

 Its specific refractive energy, 0-5405, is but little short of that found for 

 cymene, viz. 0-5506, and is consistent with the idea of the substance being 

 cymene mixed with some other body not belonging to the phenyl group. 



Dr. WrigMs Report, 



At the last meeting of the Association a preliminary notice was read on the 

 action of certain oxidizing agents on liesperidcne, the terpcne of orange-oil 

 (Portugal of commerce). A large number of further experiments have been 

 made on this essential oil, and also on nutmeg-oil, which is said to contain 

 another terpene (myrhticene) of boiling-point several degrees lower than 

 than that of hesperidene ; there being thus reason for supposing that these 

 two terpenes constitute a well-marked case of isomerism, it was thought best 

 to investigate the oils in which they occur before commencing experiments 

 on other and lesser-known essential oils. In many points the results are 

 not yet quite complete. 



The oils employed were obtained from Messrs. Piesse & Liibin, and were 

 believed to be perfectly genuine and unadulterated. 



1. Oil of Nutmeg. — It has been shown by Gladstone (Chem. Soc. Jouru. 

 1864, p. 1, and 1872, p. 1) that this oil consists essentially of a terpene 

 {myristkene) boiling at 167°, together with a small quantity of an oxidized con- 

 stituent boiling at about 220°, and giving on analysis numbers agreeing badly 

 with the formula Cj„H,^0, and thence termed myristicol. About a kilo- 

 gramme of oil was slowly distilled ; the majority came over below 200° ; some 

 boiled up to 290°, when a soft brown resin was left in the retort, constituting 

 about 2 per cent, of the oil distilled ; on combustion this gave numbers 

 agreeing with the formula Cj„H5,0.=4C,gIIjj-|-Oj. 



Tlie higher portions of this first distillate appeared to be somewhat more 

 oxidized than this resin, portions boiling at 260° to 280° and at 280° to 290° 

 giving numbers agreeing with the empirical formula Cj^H^gO, ; these sub- 

 stances have not yet been further examined, being probably mixtures. 



The lower portions of tlie first distillate were several times fractionated, 

 with the result of producing a considerable quantity of a mixture of hydro- 

 carbons boiling below 180°, and a small quantity of an oxidized constituent. 



