— 87 - 



Durrans inclines to the opinion that the sample was either an old oil, or 

 had been partially deanetholised. 



In our last Report 1 ) we discussed the changes which staranise oil 

 undergoes in the process of deanetholisation, especially with the object 

 of demonstrating that the abnormal behaviour of staranise oil is not ne- 

 cessarily always due to adulteration. 



The explanations which were given by us on that occasion have in- 

 duced a Paris business-friend to give us the following information con- 

 cerning staranise oil, which is not without broader interest: According to 

 our informant the Chinese have at their disposal several qualities of 

 staranise oil; one of these, an inferior quality, comes from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Pac-Se, from which originally only the seed was brought 

 into commerce. The solidifying point of this oil is about +11°, whereas 

 the oils from Tonquin and the equally good oils from Ping-Sian have a 

 solidifying point of not less than -fl6°. By doctoring the last named oils 

 with the first it is possible to prepare mixtures which may be sold with 

 a good profit at low prices 2 ). 



Oil of Strobilanthes lupulinus. An English periodical 3 ) mentions an 

 oil which is most probably derived from Strobilanthes lupulinus (S. Dalzellii), 

 an Acanthacea which is very common in the ghauts near Bombay. The 

 oil, which was distilled from the flower-buds, possessed a very strong 

 but decidedly pleasant odour. Its constants were as follow: d 0,9648, 

 a — 16° 30', n 1,4688, sap. v. 1,7, ester v. 257, No details are given with 

 regard to the percentage of the yield. 



Tansy Oil. The plantations in the States of Michigan and Indiana 

 are smaller in extent this year than in 1910, being only 145 acres against 

 182 acres last year. At first, owing to absence of demand, the prices 

 had somewhat receded, especially as over 1300 lbs. of old oil had been 

 carried forward into the new season. Lately, however, there has been 

 some recovery, and the article has taken its place in the general upward 

 movement of American oils. 



Oil of Taxodiutn distichum, Rich. (Southern Cypress). A. F. Odell 4 ), 

 having extracted the sawdust of this North American conifer with 95°/o 

 alcohol, obtained an extract which, when distilled under diminished pressure 

 (35 mm.) yielded one fraction boiling between 180 and 190°, and another 

 boiling between 217 and 222°. From the first fraction he isolated a body 

 possessing the following properties: b. p. 182 to 185° (35 mm.), d 2 ^ 0,9469, 

 « D to the right, n D20 o 1,5040. Combustion resulted in the formula Ci 2 H 2 oO; 



*) Report April 1911, 108. 



2 ) On staranise oils of low solidifying point also compare Gildemeister and Hoffmann, 

 The Volatile Oils, 1** Ed., p. 358, footnote 4, as well as Report April 1906, 64. 



3 ) Perfum. and Essent. Oil Record 2 (1911), 96. 



4 ) journ. Americ. chem. Soc. 33 (1911), 755. 



