

AUSTRALIAN MELALEUCAS AND THEIR ESSENTIAL OILS. 203 



distilled. This had specific gravity 0*9186 ; rotation 

 a D + 2'1; refractive index 1*4738. The remainder, consist- 

 ing of high boiling constituents was 27 f; this was trans- 

 ferred to a vessel and allowed to crystallise. After some 

 days a thick pasty mass had formed ; this was spread on 

 porous plates and a whitish crystalline mass obtained after 

 absorption was complete. 



The oil distilling below 195° O. was almost colourless, 

 and the odour strongly resembled that given by the richer 

 Eucalyptol oils obtained from certain of the Eucalypts. 

 The specific gravity was 0*9128 at 15° 0.; refractive index 

 1*4689 ; rotation a D + 3*7°; cineol 66°/* by the phosphoric 

 acid method. The colour reaction with phosphoric acid 

 was most marked, due to the large amount of high boiling 

 constituents present in the crude oil, and the mixture 

 became reddish in colour long before the combination with 

 the phosphoric acid was complete. On again redistilling 

 200 cc. of this oil, nearly the whole distilled below 180° O. 

 The first 9 cc, boiling 156-158° C, had a rotation + 12*3 

 and gave a nitrosochloride melting at 103° C. It was 

 evidently pinene. 



It is apparent that if "cajuput" is required, then the 

 leaves should be distilled from four to five hours : if only 

 the cineol (eucalyptol) portion is desired, then the distilla- 

 tion need only be continued for about two hours. It must 

 be remembered, however, that numerous species of 

 Eucalyptus are now known which give an abundance of oil 

 exceedingly rich in eucalyptol, so that the possibility of pre- 

 paring the lighter portion of the oil of M. uncinata com- 

 mercially is doubtful. Success in this direction seems to 

 be possible only by preparing the oil as " cajuput." Copper 

 fittings were not present in the apparatus used for distilling 

 the oil, so that the green colour, which is usually due to 

 copper, was absent. 



