104 R. T. BAKER AND H. G. SMITH. 



have a high specific gravity, and to contain much cineol. 

 In March of this year a quantity of this plant was for- 

 warded to the Museum, by Mr. C. H. Oheesbrough of 

 Siberia, Broke, near Singleton, N. S. Wales, through the 

 Director of Forests of this State ; from this sufficient oil 

 was distilled for the purpose of investigation. Mr. Howitz 

 in his letter suggested that the oil might be found to be 

 similar to cajuput, which, as the result showed, was not a 

 bad suggestion. The Museum Collector had also forwarded 

 botanical material of this species from Millfield in 1908. 



In the district where this Prostantbera grows plentifully, 

 it is considered as having some medicinal value, and when 

 the leaves are crushed and the vapour inhaled, acts as a 

 specific against influenza and similar complaints. The 

 plant is also said to be objectionable to flies. These pro- 

 perties suggest that the active principle lies in the essential 

 oil, but from the composition of this, it is hardly to be 

 expected that it could be much more efficaceous than an 

 ordinary eucalyptus oil of the eucalyptol-pinene class, and 

 that whatever medicinal value it may have, is primarily 

 due to the cineol (eucalyptol) in the oil, no less than 61 per 

 cent, of the crude oil being that constituent. The oil also 

 contains a small quantity of carvacrol with a trace of 

 thymol, but hardly in sufficient quantity to be of much 

 value medicinally, although both thymol and carvacrol — 

 closely related phenols — have considerable antiseptic value. 

 Other constituents occurring in this oil are cuminaldehyde, 

 pinene, cymene, a sesquiterpene, geranylacetate, together 

 with a small quantity of another ester, some free geraniol 

 and a small amount of an undetermined alcohol. 



The specific name cineolifera is now proposed for this 

 species in allusion to the large amount of cineol contained 

 in the essential oil of its leaves. 



