200 A. H. PENFOLD. 



It is a shrub 3 to 5 feet high and is found almost invari- 

 ably in the beds of creeks and rivers. It is well named by 

 its author on account of the pleasant rose odour detected 

 when the oil glands are ruptured. On account of its 

 habitat great difficulty was experienced in obtaining 

 sufficient leaves for distillation as although the locality 

 selected for obtaining them — the bed of the Nattai River, 

 near Hill Top, N.S.W. — is but 80 miles from Sydney, the 

 rough and mountainous nature of the country and almost 

 entire absence of transport necessitated personal collection. 

 In this connection the writer is much indebted and desires 

 to specially express his thanks and appreciation to Mr. 

 Cheel for his work in supervising the collection of the 

 whole of the leaves which was carried out at his own 

 expense and entailed considerable personal inconvenience. 

 It is due to his enthusiasm and energy that the chemical 

 part of the work was enabled to be undertaken. The 

 leaves distilled therefore are absolutely authentic. 



The Essential Oil. 

 The oil thus obtained from this species was yellow in 

 colour, fairly mobile and possessed a pleasant terpene and 

 rose-like odour, the latter being most pronounced when 

 diffused. The leaves were obtained in every instance from 

 the bed of the Nattai River near Hill Top, N.S.W., and 

 were distilled within a few days after cutting. 



Altogether 190 fbs. weight of leaves and branchlets, cut 

 as for commercial distillation, were distilled and gave an 

 average percentage yield of 0*75%. The yield obtained from 

 leaves cut during the months of August and October in 

 different years was 0*9%, whilst those cut in the month of 

 May showed but 0*4%. This figure is slightly on the low 

 side as the woody portion of the plant was present in larger 

 amount than in the other lots. 



