— 52 — 



oils which clearly originated from the same source, were entirely identic: 

 d 15 o 0,8707; « D — 3 22') ester-content 2i,26°/ ; insoluble in 10 vol. 

 70 per cent, alcohol. 



Unfortunately the quantity at our disposal was too small for an 

 exact examination, and the nature of the adulterant could therefore 

 not be determined with certainty. But if our above-mentioned assump- 

 tion should be confirmed, one more adulterant would be added to the 

 number which comes under consideration for lavender oil. 



Lemongrass Oil. We have on several occassions reported on 

 the experiments which have been made in the Botanical Garden of 

 Victoria (Cameroons) with the cultivation of andropogon grasses for 

 the purpose of oil manufacture 1 ). Whilst the oil distilled from these 

 grasses was considered by S trunk, the Director of the Botanical Garden, 

 to be citronella oil, Mannich found, from a sample sent to the 

 Pharmaceutical Institute of Berlin, that the oil is identic with lemon- 

 grass oil. A sample which we recently received from Dr. S trunk gave 

 a result which corresponded with that obtained by Mannich. The 

 oil had a yellow colour and a powerful, pleasant aroma: d 15 o 0,8929; 

 « D — o° 8'; aldehyde-content (citral) 84°/ ; the solubility is imperfect, 

 inasmuch as the oil does not at all form a clear solution with 70 per 

 cent, alcohol, and the solutions in 80 and 90 per cent, and even 

 absolute alcohol, which are at first clear, also become cloudy with more 

 or less strong opalescence, when more alcohol is added. The oil 

 resembles on this point West Indian lemongrass oil, and is as little 

 as the latter able to replace the East Indian oil, owing to its imperfect 

 solubility. But, on account of its high aldehyde- content, it may possibly 

 be found suitable as crude material for the production of citral. 



On a previous occasion 2 ) we have already pointed out that the 

 andropogon grasses, where their origin is mentioned, are frequently 

 mistaken one for the other. This inconvenience is all the more felt, 

 as the uncertainty of the botanical nomenclature also exists in scient- 

 ific works. 



It is as yet an open question whether — as is frequently believed — 

 the climate and character of the soil exert such an influence on the 

 plants, that one and the same species under changed conditions yields 

 oils of which the composition differs considerably ; but there is a certain 

 amount of probability in favour of this belief, and it would also partly 

 explain the above-mentioned inconvenience. We have repeatedly had 

 before us authentic oils originating from the West Indies, which accord- 

 ing to the information received by us had been derived from Andro- 



Report April 1903, 23 ; October 1903, 46. 

 Report April 1903, 23. 



