— 49 — 



After such an important advance in the prices, amounting now to 

 about 50 /o> it was impossible to retain the quotations of orris oil 

 which had been based upon the lowest purchase prices of the previous 

 year. We have, however, raised our quotations for the present so 

 little, that the advance represents a scarcely noticeable charge to the 

 consumer, and in view of the situation we can only advise our friends 

 to lay in an abundant supply at the present prices. 



Patchouli Oil. After the prices had been forced down to the 

 extreme limit, the downward movement has come to a stop. Good, 

 healthy patchouli-leaves from Penang reached their lowest level in 

 December last year with 25/- per cwt, but they advanced shortly 

 afterwards to 28/- and cannot now be bought below 30/-. The low 

 prices of oil have been largely taken advantage of; they bring profit 

 to the perfumer in a double sense, as it is a well-known fact that 

 the quality improves by prolonged keeping. 



In the Botanical Garden of Buitenzorg there are three varieties 

 of patchouli: I. Patchouli fleurissant (Pogostemon Heyneanus Bth. ?), 

 II. P. de Singapour {Pog. tomentosus Hassk. ?), III. P. de Java (a 

 variety of Pog. tomentosus Hassk.?), whose essential oils, according to 

 A. W. K. de Jong 1 ) possess the following properties: 





I. 



II. 



III. 



d25° 



[ a 3D25° 



Soluble in: 



0,922 

 — i6°io' 



10 vol. 90 per 

 alcohol 



cent. 



o,949 



— 5i° 24' 



6 vol. 90 per cent. 



alcohol 



0,929 

 42*48") 

 0,75 vol. 90 per 

 alcohol 



cent. 



Distillation at 













740 mm. up to 250 : 

 250 to 270 

 270 to 280 

 280 to 3 00° 



130 to 250° = 



50% 

 i«7. 



i°7o 



17% 



230 to 250°= 2% 



60% 

 20°/o 



10% 



145 to 250° = 

 70% 



6% 



10% 



The oils II and III contained Gladstone's azulene. The action 

 of concentrated sulphuric acid left unchanged 1 7 °/ of I, 22 °/ of II, 

 and 2O°/ of III, from which was obtained by distillation a sesqui- 

 terpene (boiling point 260 to 263 at 740 mm. pressure) for which 

 the author proposes the name dilemene. Md25° : H. — i°, III. — i>5°; 

 d25o: II. 0,915, III. 0,897. This sesquiterpene de Jong considers 

 possibly identical with the sesquiterpene (boiling point 273 to 274 at 

 760 mm pressure: Md -{- O 45*; d 0,930), discovered by von Soden 

 and Rojahn 3 ) in patchouli oil. 



x ) Recueil des trav. chim. des P.-B. 24 (2905), 309 to 312, Buitenzorg. Ace. 

 to Chem. Centralbl. 1905, II. 1180. 



*) The sign denoting the direction of the rotation is not mentioned in the Report. 

 s ) Berl. Berichte 37 (1904), 3354. Report April 1905, 61. 



4 



