— 121 — 



a-thujone (m. p. of the tribromide 121 to 122°; m. p. of the semicarbazone 

 186 to 188°). The oil also contained from 3 to 5°/o tZ-a-pinene, which was 

 identified by its constants as well as by the preparation of its nitroso- 

 chloride. The authors further found the product to contain from 1 to 3°/o 

 tanacetyl alcohol, which body was identified by its constants (b. p. 210 

 to 220; d 25o 0,9266; [«] D25 o +29,8°; n D25 o 1,46207), and which appears to 

 occur in the oil in the form of an acetate. Fenchone was not detected. 



As the authors only quote the paper of Brandel and Dewey 1 ) on oil 

 of Thuja plicata, it would appear that they have overlooked the work of 

 Blasdale 2 ) and our own communication on the subject 3 ). 



The oil obtained by us (yield 1,32%) from the air-dried leaves and 

 branches gave the following constants: di 5 o 0,9056, « D + 5°4 f , n D2 oo 1,45721, 

 acid v. 0,8, ester v. 16,9. 



Thyme Oil has remained very quiet. There have been plentiful arrivals 

 of qualities rich in phenol, and the low prices have remained unchanged. 



Toddalia Oil. The oil from the leaves of Toddalia asiatica, L. (Kurz) 

 [T. aculeata, Pers. 4 ) according to the Index Kewensis] has been distilled in 

 the Philippines 5 ) by Brooks. The yield was 0,08%, and the constants were 

 as follow: d|| 0,9059, n D30O 1,4620. During cooling there was precipitated 

 18% of a substance with an odour reminding of camphor, and very liable 

 to decomposition, which, when recrystallised from light petroleum, melted 

 between 96,5 and 97°. A fraction of the oil which boiled over between 

 195 and 200° contained linalool, which was identified by oxidation into citral. 



Trawas Leaf Oil. The leaves of Litsea odorifera, Valeton (N. O. 

 Lauraceae), a native of Java, are known in that island as trawas leaves 

 and are in use as a popular remedy. According to van Romburgh 6 ), they 

 yield an essential oil possessing the following constants: di 5 o 0,836 to 0,846, 

 « D — 0°10' to — 7° (in a 200 mm. tube). The principal fraction of the 

 oil boiled at 233° (120 to 125° at 10 mm.). With semicarbazide it formed 

 a semicarbazone, m. p. 116°, from which a ketone was regenerated. This 

 was treated by van Romburgh with permanganate of potassium, from 

 which resulted a ketone, m. p. 12° (b. p. 234°; di 7 o 0,829; m. p. of the 

 semicarbazone 124°), which proved to be methylnonylketone. From the 

 oxidation-liquid an acid Ci Hi 8 O 3 , m. p. 49°, was isolated. This was 

 2-ketodecylic acid, and, when oxidised with chromic acid and sulphuric 

 acid, yielded suberic acid, while oxydation with sodium hypobromite 



» 



!) Pharm. Review 26 (1908), 248; comp. Report November 1908, 117. 

 2 ) Journ. Americ. chem. Soc. 29 (1907), 539; comp. Report October 1907, 91. 

 *) Report April 1909, 89. 



*) Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 460. 

 *) Philippine Journ. of Sc. 4, A. (1911), 344. 



6 ) Koninkl. Akad. Wetensch. Amsterdam. Meeting of 28. 10. 1911, p. 325. From a reprint 

 kindly sent to us. 



