— 97 — 



core Hills, South of that district. It differs markedly in its habit from 

 (t. procumbens, L, the parent-plant of the American wintergreen oil, which 

 is a small, creeping shrub, while G. fragrantisdma grows into a strong, 

 high bush. 



The oil is prepared by the natives in the neighbourhood of Ootaca- 

 mund (Nilgiris) by simple distillation of the leaves with water in primitive 

 copper stills, such as are employed in India in the manufacture of grass- 

 oils, among others. The output is quite insignificant, the producers being 

 mostly distillers of eucalyptus oil who make a little wintergreen oil in 

 addition. It would, however, be quite possible to extend the industry, 

 seeing that there is abundance of raw material available. 



The oil-yield is very small, and the distilling is therefore actually not 

 profitable. The sale of the oil is wholly restricted to home-consumption, 

 and the demand for the article appears to be only slight. The high market- 

 price of the oil locally (about 40 oM per kilo), as well as the competition 

 of the American article and of the synthetic product stand in the way of 

 establishing an export-trade to Europe. 



Mention is made of Nilgiri wintergreen oil in Government Reports as 

 far back as the 'forties of the 19 th century. 



A sample of the oil which accompanied Mr. Reinhart's communication 

 to us, and which had been obtained by him on the occasion of a visit to 

 a distillery in the Nilgiris, entirely resembled the oil from Gmdtheria pro- 

 cumbens, both in its odour and in its other properties; but it was inactive, 

 whereas the latter is faintly lasvorotatory: di 5 o 1,1877, a D &0° } n D20 o 1,53485, 

 ester v. 364,8 = 99°/o methyl salicylate, sol. in 7 vols. a. m. 70% alcohol. 

 The oil had a reddish-brown colour. 



From a paragraph in the Bulletin of the Colonial Museum at Haarlem 1 ) 

 it appears that Gaulth&Ha fragrantissima also occurs in the high mountains 

 of the Dutch Indies, in Java as well as in Sumatra. Its Malay name is 

 "Sari moedjari'\ The oil obtained from this species and from the allied 

 Gmdtheria leucocarpa is known in the producing district as "Goendapoeri 

 oil", and is employed medicinally and as a perfume; it is used, among 

 other purposes, as a scent for the garments of Indian Princes. In 

 Sumatra the leaves are chewed as a species of "Sirih" 2 ). 



Wormseed Oil. As in the past, the American variety has been in 

 brisk demand, its reputation as an anthelmintic being steadily on the in- 

 crease. It is true that the increase in price which we prognosticated in 

 April has actually taken place since then, but the sale has not been 

 affected thereby in the slightest degree. Unfortunately no reports are as 

 yet to hand concerning the coming crop. Levantine wormseed oil is still 



a ) Bulletin No. 48 van het Koloniaal Museum te Haarlem, July 1911, p. 125. 

 2 ) "Sirih" is a masticatory much esteemed among the Malays. Various aromatic herbs 

 are used in its preparation. 



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