— 34 — 



Celery Oil. In continuation of what was said in our last Report on 

 the examination of celery-seed oil 1 ) we refer to some results obtained 

 by ). Swenholt-). The oil obtained by the latter to the extent of 2,45° o 

 (calculated for dried seed), was collected in two separate fractions, one 

 light, colourless and of a pleasant limonene-like odour, the other heavy, 

 yellow-coloured and smelling perceptibly of celery. The constants of the 

 fractions were respectively: d 20 o 0,8408, [«] D20 o -j- 111° 41' and d 20 o 0,8774, 

 Md2oo + 74° 57'. A mixture of the two oils showed the following con- 

 stants: d 20 o 0,85%, [«] D20 o + 99° 33'. After being left standing eight months 

 the sp. gr. of the light oil had increased by 0,012, that of the heavy oil 

 by 0,0916 and that of the mixture by 0,0130. Further examination showed 

 that the oil decomposed to a very considerable extent on saponification, 

 for the acetylation number of the saponified oil was much lower than 

 that of the original sample, which may perhaps be explicable by the pre- 

 sence of a lactone. The distillation water contained acids, the analytical 

 values of which pointed to sedanolic and sedanonic acids. 



Chamomile Oil. As a result of the high prices which have prevail- 

 ed on the chamomile market during the past year, the demand for our 

 own distillate was not particularly active, and our stocks therefore will 

 hold out until the new crop is available. It is to be hoped that we shall 

 succeed in replenishing our supplies at advantageous rates. Oil of Roman 

 chamomiles, which is notoriously for the most part distilled in England, 

 is likely within the near future to experience some reduction in prices, 

 because the English distillers have lately somewhat lowered their demands 

 "from considerations of competition", in spite of the fact that the harvest 

 is reported to be a moderate one. 



Cinnamon Oil, Ceylon. This article continues to be distilled by 

 us on the largest possible scale, and our quality remains unequalled. As 

 a result of the perfection of our distilling process, we have been able to 

 reduce our prices somewhat; but we may call attention to the fact that 

 the position of the cinnamon market is a firm one. In Ceylon, as elsewhere 

 in the tropics, the high prices obtainable for rubber have turned the attention 

 of the planters to that article, and from everywhere the news comes that 

 it is intended at an early date to extend the rubber plantations considerably, 

 at the expense of cinnamon cultivation. In view of the continually in- 

 creasing consumption of cinnamon, an upward movement in the prices of 

 the Ceylon article seems therefore inevitable. 



C. A. Hill 3 ), in an article on Ceylon cinnamon oil, endeavours to show 

 the excellent services rendered by the index of refraction, in conjunction 



1 ) Report April 1910, 32. 



2 ) Midland Drugg. and Pharm. Review. 44 (1910), 220. 



• 5 ) Chemist and Druggist 76 (1910), 959; Americ. Perfumer 5 (1910), 117. 



