— 106 — 



the following bodies in the esterified form: isobutyric acid, isovaleric acid, 

 isopropylidene acetic acid (/?, /?-dimethylacrylic acid), formic acid and * ; 

 acetic acid. It is uncertain whether isopropylidene acetic acid was 

 present in the original oil or whether it was only generated during the 

 distilling process. 



The oil contained 95% terpenes, among which the following were 

 identified: dipentene (m. p. of the dihydrochloride 50°), d-limonene (m. p. of 

 the nitrolbenzylamine 92 to 93°), «-pinene (m. p. of the nitrolbenzylamine 

 122 to 123°) d-phellandrene (m. p. of the nitrite 103 to 104°). The oil 

 also contained an alcohol Ci H 20 O (?), of which the phenylurethane melted 

 at 145 to 146°. Finally, Lange detected the presence in the oil of a ses- 

 quiterpene, which yielded a dihydrochloride melting at 157 to 157,5°. 



Angelicaldehyde, which is mentioned by Wagner as a constituent of 

 the oil, was not found in it by Lange. 



Pimento Oil. It has been necessary to raise the price in the course 

 of the winter, because the arrivals of pimento of a quality suitable for 

 distilling have been very scanty and raw material has commanded higher 

 rates. For the present there does not seem to be any prospect of a re- 

 duction, as the demand is much in excess of the production. 



Pine-needle Oils. The principal interest continues to be centred 

 upon Siberian pine-needle oil, because that variety occupies a specially 

 favoured place among the oils which are adapted for all kinds of technical 

 purposes and at the same time possesses the advantage of cheapness. 

 The aroma of this oil is so pleasant and powerful that it has also secured 

 for the article an opening in numerous manufactures which formerly 

 relied exclusively upon the more costly varieties of pine-needle oils. 

 Pine-needle oil from Abies pectinata, and oil from the cones (01. templinum), 

 were in plentiful supply; on the other hand the distillation of oil from 

 Pinus Pumilio is being restricted in some of the producing districts, 

 because this manufacture no longer pays at the present depressed selling- 

 prices, and because it is becoming a more and more difficult and costly 

 matter to procure the raw material for distilling. For the present it is 

 impossible to say in how far this fact will influence the course of prices 

 in the near future. 



We seize this opportunity to point out once more that for many years 

 past oils have been placed upon the market from various districts, which, 

 although of quite excellent quality, possess a rather lower specific gravity 

 and a higher optical rotation than are ordinarily considered admissible in 

 oil of Pinus pumilio. We have already called attention to this matter in 

 a previous Report (October 1906, 62), and we will now only add the sup- 

 plementary statement that it is absolutely necessary to recognise the 

 existence of these deviations from the normal, as other oils are at times 

 unprocurable. 



