— 49 — 



Eucalyptus Oil. There has been no change whatever in the position 

 of the eucalyptus oil market within recent months; the demand for all 

 varieties having continued fairly brisk at unchanged low rates. For several 

 years past, Australia has been the sole source of supply of the oil, and 

 in view of the depression in prices there seems to be no probability of 

 distilling being resumed in other parts. 



In the British Medical Journal W. E. Foggie 1 ) refers to a case of 

 poisoning by eucalyptus oil. A six-year old boy, two hours after being 

 given a teaspoonful of eucalyptus oil, was seized with colic, vomiting, and 

 diarrhoea. Three hours later the patient began to lose consciousness, 

 followed by collapse, but after 2 to 3 hours more the boy recovered 

 completely. No attack upon the kidneys was observed. 



As already mentioned in our last Report 2 ), eucalyptus oil has lately 

 been used extensively in Australia in the smelting of ore. A business- 

 friend of ours there has recently supplied us with a few further particulars 

 on this subject, which we reproduce here as a matter of general interest. 



Last year enormous quantities of oil have been consumed in the 

 mining-districts in the processes of preparing sulphides of zinc and lead. 

 About Va lb- oil is emulsified by vigorously shaking it up with about 

 100 gallons water, and with this mixture the moistened or powdered 

 ore is stirred up. The eucalyptus oil absorbs the sulphide-particles and 

 carries them to the surface, together with the gold and silver contained 

 in them, up to 95% of the actual content of the powdered ore being 

 recovered by the process. The Barrier Mines already consume about 

 10 tons of eucalyptus oil monthly, and this exceptional demand makes 

 the distillers independent of other markets. 



Oil of Fagara xanthoxyloides. As mentioned by us in our last 

 Report 3 ), Thorns, some time ago, reported upon the pharmaco-chemical 

 examination of the root-bark and fruit of Fagara xanthoxyloides, Lam. 

 [Zanthoxylum (Xanthoxylum) senegalense, D. C; N. O. Rutaceas]. Since that 

 time detailed particulars have been published concerning the examination, 

 which was carried out by H. Priess 4 ). From this publication we abstract 

 the following details: The peel contains about 2,4% essential oil of a 

 brownish colour and a faintly acid reaction (di 5 o 0,9229; [«] D15 o — 1,20°; 

 acid v. 2,19; ester v. 58,51) from which, with sodium bisulphite, methyl- 

 n-nonylketone was isolated. For the purpose of identifying the ketone 

 the author prepared the oxime (m. p. 45 to 46°) and the semicarbazone 

 (m. p. 120 to 121°). It is probable that the ketone is mixed with an alde- 



*) Brit. med. Journ. 1911, 359. Quoted from Therap. Monatsh. 25 (191 f), 339. 



2 ) Report April 1911, 72. 



*) Report April 1911, 73. 



4 ) Berichte d. deutsch. pharm. Ges. 24 (1911), 227. 



4 



