— 118 — 



carbazone 200 to 201 ° when heating rapidly; m. p. of the oxime 88 to 89°). 

 The acetic ester of dihydrocarveol had an odour of spearmint. 



In addition to acetic acid and possibly also butyric, caproic or 

 caprylic acids, the oil contained 0,1% of a solid acid, m. p. 182 to 184° 

 which has also been observed by Nelson in several other samples of 

 spearmint oil. 



No fraction of the oil under examination had an odour of menthol. 



According to K. Irk 1 ), Hungarian spearmint oil constitutes a straw- 

 coloured or faintly greenish-yellow liquid: d^ 0,9375 to 0,9513, a D — 44,38 

 to 49,85°, n D20O 1,4899 to 1,4931, soluble in its own vol. of 80°/o and in 

 one-half its own vol. and more of 90% alcohol. It contains from 62 

 to 71°/o Z-carvone. The green herb yields 0,5278%, and the dry herb 

 from 1,8530 to 2,481 4 °/o oil. 



We have already previously reported on Hungarian spearmint oil (comp. 

 Report April 1909, 85). 



Spike Oil. At the commencement of March we found it necessary 

 again to raise our prices, as the stocks of our excellent pure spike oil 

 were approaching depletion and cannot be renewed before next August 

 or September. We are therefore unable to execute large orders unless a 

 suitable time for delivery is granted. 



In our Report of November 1908, 115 we stated that spike oils of 

 really good quality should be soluble in about 15 to 20 times their volume 

 of 60°/o alcohol, if distilled by the method customary in France (a feu nu). 

 Since then we have been privately informed that it has been observed 

 that the degree of solubility of spike oil varies according to the origin 

 of the oil. Oils from the Alps and from Provence are said to be soluble 

 in 60% alcohol, and oils from the neighbourhood of Roche-Esclapon, a 

 village in the Var, are said to dissolve even in 58% alcohol. On the 

 other hand, the distillates from the Departments of the Bouches-du-Rhone, 

 Vaucluse, Gard, Herault and Aude, are said to be only rarely soluble in 

 60% alcohol. The differences are said to be due to variations in the 

 conditions of the soil and the climate, and also to the method of distilling, 

 distillation being often carried out without water and cooling. The matter 

 is further complicated by the circumstance that, in order to increase the 

 weight, the herb-cutters often mix with the spike other plants, such as^ 

 Satureja montana, L., Calamintha officinalis, Moench, Sideritis rornana, L., 

 Teucrium Folium, L., $c., which, when the admixture is moderate, it is very 

 difficult to pick out. With the object of checking the accuracy of these 



x ) Kiserletiigyi Kozlemenyek 14 (1911). From a reprint kindly sent to us. Also see 

 Pharm. Zentralh. 52 (1911), 1111. 



