288 



H. G. SMITH. 



aldehyde. Messrs. Faulding and Co., of Adelaide, South Australia, 

 kindly sent us a sample of the crude oil of this species from which 

 the pure aldehyde was obtained. The optical rotations of this oil 

 in a 100 mm. tube, were as follows: — 



Crudeoil = -5-4° 



Fraction boiling below 190° C... ... = -30 



Fraction 190-220° C - -535 



I have seen an analysis of the oil of E, cnerifolia, by Mr. R. H. 

 Davis, f.c.s., made several years ago, the most interesting point 

 being where he states the deviation of the oil to be, in a 100 mm. 

 tube, 3-53 degrees to the left. 



There is a remarkable constancy (within certain limits) in the 

 characters of the oils obtained from identical species of Eucalypts. 

 We have numerous instances of this fact, one of which will now 

 suffice, that of the u Mallee Box," E. Woollsiana, the oil of which 

 contains this aldehyde in fair quantity. This is a species growing 

 in the western portion of this State, and has just been named and 

 described by my colleague Mr. R. T. Baker, f.l.s. 1 In working 

 out this species, four different quantities of material were obtained 

 from various localities where it grows plentifully; the results from 

 these were as follows : — 





No. 1. 



No. 2. 



No. 3. 



No. 4. 



Yield in percentage of oil on a 











commercial basis 



0-493 



0-4435 



0-524 



0-517 



Rotation crude oil, 100 mm. 











tube 



-12-2 



-9-5 



-15-8 



-12-7 



Specific gravity, at 15° C. 



0-889 



0-8917 



0-8947 



0-8977 



These oils were all free from phellandrene, and the rotation 

 shows them all to contain about the same amount of the aldehyde. 

 Only a small quantity of eucalyptol was present in either sample. 

 This constancy in constituents of the oils of the various species of 

 Eucalypts can be taken advantage of, in obtaining those several 

 constituents now known to occur in the oils of this remarkable 

 group of trees. 



1 Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales., 1900. 



