STRINGYBARK TREES AND THEIR ESSENTIAL OILS. Ill 



The oils of the first and second fractions were found to be 

 exceedingly good, they were colourless, 1 pleasant both in taste and 

 smell, and contained a large percentage of eucalyptol, had no 

 rotation when mixed together, and contained but a trace of 

 phellandrene. The third fraction was slightly coloured and acid 

 from the slight decomposition of an ester : — 1*994 grams of the 

 oil boiled three-quarters of an hour on water-bath with upright 

 condenser with 20 cc. of semi-normal alcoholic potash required 

 18 8 cc. of semi-normal sulphuric acid to neutralise the remaining 

 potash. The fourth fraction was greasy in appearance, much 

 resembling a fixed oil ; it was somewhat coloured ; it was placed 

 in a closely stoppered bottle and in two days two-thirds of the 

 fraction had crystallised into a solid mass ; the crystallisation 

 continued, and after five days the whole had solidified showing 

 that this fraction consisted almost entirely of eudesmol ; as 

 it was found by a special test that slight decomposition occurred 

 when pure eudesmol was heated to near its boiling point, and as 

 the temperature required for distillation is so high at atmospheric 

 pressure, it would be preferable in practice to distil at a reduced 

 pressure. 



It will be observed that differences exist in the rotation of the 

 several oils from this species; in the first fraction of No. 1, 25 

 per cent, the specific rotation was +1'11° while in that of the 

 mixed oils it was lsevorotatory in exactly the opposite degree, 

 being - 1*11° so that increased lsevorotatory terpenes were present 

 in some of the oils. It was not found possible to keep the leaves 

 from individual trees separate, but we have little doubt that the 

 same want of constancy in the physical properties of the several 

 oils from different trees of this species corresponded to that found 

 existing in the oils of E. punctata. 



It will be noticed by referring to the table that in the rectifica- 

 tion of the oil of JE. macrorhyncha the temperature required to 

 distil the eucalyptol from the crude oil is higher than is usually 



1 In colour and appearance this rectified oil could not be distinguished 

 from the pure eucalyptol made from it. 



