- 40 — 



Curcuma Oil. E. Rupe 1 ), who has occupied himself for some con- 

 siderable time with researches on the constitution of curcumone and of its 

 oxidation-product, curcumic acid, and who has drawn up a series of formulae 

 for the latter, has prepared synthetically, in collaboration with J. Burgin 2 ), 

 j9-tolylmethylethyl acetic acid, which may possibly be identical with cur- 

 cumic acid. Although the acid possesses the same b. p. as curcumic acid 

 it differs from the last-named in the result of oxidation with permanganate of 

 potassium, for whereas in this reaction curcumic acid yields |>tolylmethyl- 

 ketone and a dicarboxylic acid (m. p. 227°), j>-tolylmethylethyl acetic acid 

 gives rise to another ketone, perhaps tolylethylketone, and to a mixture 

 of two acids, probably ^-acetylbenzoic acid and terephthalic acid. 



Cypress Oil. Although we have taken the precaution of working 

 up large quantities of green cypress leaves in our factory at Barreme, in 

 order to make sure of being able to cope with the increasing demand for 

 this excellent and well-tried remedy against whooping cough, we would 

 suggest to our customers that they should lay in their requirements betimes, 

 because in case a whooping cough epidemic should occur during the late 

 autumn, the oil might easily become scarce, the more so because our 

 New York branch, after efforts extending over many years, has at last 

 succeeded in interesting numerous American medical men in the remedy, 

 and a brisk demand for the United States is therefore to be anticipated. 



Essential Oils, Sicilian and Calabrian. 



With his usual obligingness, our esteemed friend Mr. Eduardo Jacob of 

 Messina has sent us the following report, dated September 6 th : — 



In my Spring-report I had already pointed out the strong probability 

 that in the course of the season all our Sicilian and Calabrian essential 

 oils would attain high prices, but nobody could have the remotest conception 

 of the height which the quotations would actually reach. 



The causes which existed for what may be described as an abnormal 

 advance in prices in all essential oils have their roots in the first place 

 in the unfavourable conditions of production which prevailed during the 

 past winter, and next (and this was also an important factor) in the 

 circumstance that during the last three years our manufacturers have 

 made a good deal of money, and thus have acquired greater powers of re- 

 sistance and a higher degree of independence from the commercial demand. 



It is due to the last-named fact that notwithstanding the extremely 

 sluggish course of trade which resulted from the high prices of all oils, 

 these oils not merely maintained their values, but have shown a steadily 

 increasing tendency from the commencement to the present time. 



!) Comp. Report April 1908, 36; October 1909, 53; April 1911, 56. 

 2 ) Berl. Berichte 44 (1911), 1218. 





