— 18 — 



The author intends to communicate full details of his investi- 

 gations later. 



In earlier Reports 1 ) it was stated that the lasvorotatory modification 

 of benzaldehyde cyanohydrin can be obtained by acting with emulsin upon 

 the racemic modification. Feist 2 ) has recently reported that racemic acet- 

 aldehyde and racemic cinnamic acid cyanohydrin behave in a precisely 

 similar manner, from which (the author thinks) it may be inferred that 

 under suitable circumstances all other cyanohydrins can also be split up, 

 in accordance with the general equation: — 



rac.-cyanohydrin -f- emulsin ± > 1-cyanohydrin (d-cyanohydrin) + aldehyde 

 -j- HCN + emulsin. 



Angelica Oils. As forecasted in our last Report, the prices of an- 

 gelica root oil have undergone a further advance in the course of the 

 summer, and have now reached the figure, never previously attained, of 

 <cM 220. — per kilo. But the reports from Thuringia with regard to the 

 prospects of the coming root crop are very favourable, and a fall in the 

 prices may therefore be expected with confidence in the course of the 

 winter. The young plants which were sown in the spring are, however, 

 in a very unsatisfactory condition, and the damp, cool weather has pre- 

 vented a considerable portion of the seed from developing, — a condition 

 which we have also unfortunately observed in our own fields at Miltitz. 

 It will therefore be necessary to reckon once more for next year on a 

 yield below the average, and all those interested in the article are there- 

 fore advised to use economy with the distillate of the present year, in 

 order that they may not again experience scarcity. We hope to be able 

 to fill our requirements from our own plantations, always presuming that 

 the oil-yield of the roots harvested does not again, as in 1909, disappoint 

 expectation. At the present moment the appearance of the fields is really 

 magnificent, and is exceedingly promising for the development of the 

 roots. It is to be hoped that it will now at last be possible again to 

 distil angelica seed on a large scale, and so to satisfy the demand for 

 oil from seed. We have harvested a considerable quantity of seed as 

 well as of root from our own fields. 



Anise Oil, Russian. So far as the condition of the market can be 

 surveyed at present, the prospects for Russian anise are favourable this 

 year. The area under cultivation is about 1200 dessiatines larger than 

 in 1909, and the yield per dessiatine is said to be materially better. 



The samples of oil which have thus far come to hand are of normal 

 appearance. All the preliminaries for cheap prices during the current 

 year are therefore present, but notwithstanding this a contrary course is 

 expected, because no more old stocks are available, and the speculators 



*) Report October 1909, 20; April 1910, 17. 

 2 ) Arch, der Pharm. 248 (1910), 101. 



