149 



Notes on Scientific Research in the Domain 

 of the Essential Oils. 



General. 



In a treatise by Alice Henkel *) on American medicinal plants we find 

 some data on the habitat of numerous plants which are used in the 

 manufacture of essential oils. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens , L.) 

 occurs on sandy spots in cool, damp woods, and especially underneath 

 evergreen trees in Canada and the North-Eastern States of the Union. 

 Catnip (Nepeta Cataria, L.) which was imported from Europe, now grows 

 throughout North America, from Canada and Minnesota in the North to 

 Virginia and Arkansas in the South. The geographical distribution of 

 pennyroyal extends from Nova Scotia and Quebec in the North to Dakota 

 in the South. Bugleweed (Lycopus virginicus, L.) is found from Canada to 

 Florida, Missouri and Nebraska. Peppermint (Mentha piperita, L), an impor- 

 tation from Europe, occurs from Nova Scotia and Minnesota in the North 

 to Florida and Tennessee in the South. The boundaries of the geographical 

 distribution of spearmint (Mentha viridis, L.) a plant which has also been 

 brought over from Europe, are Nova Scotia, Utah and Florida. Canada 

 Fleabane (Erigeron canadensis, L.) inhabits the greater part of North America. 

 The Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium, L.) extends from New England to Missouri. 

 Tansy (Tanacetum vidgare, L.) has been carried over from Europe to America 

 and is now found from New England and Minnesota as far as North Carolina 

 and Missouri, Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium, L.) is also a native of 

 Europe; it inhabits the North Western part of the United States from New- 

 foundland to New York. Fireweed (Erechthitis hieracifolia , Raf.) has a 

 geographical distribution extending from Canada to Louisiana and Nebraska. 



On p. 147 of our Report of April 1911 we referred to the experiments 

 in the cultivation of medicinal plants which are being carried on in Austria 

 by W. Mitlacher. Further information on this subject is given in a reprint 

 from the Zeitschrift f. d. landwirtschaftliche Versuchswesen in Osterreich, 1911, 

 of which a copy has been kindly sent to us by the author. 



Sachsse 8* Co. 2 ) have investigated the influence of peroxide of hydrogen 

 Ipon agents for correcting the taste of mouth-washes. They admixed 0,05 g. 

 of the essential oil under examination to a mixture of 40 g. alcohol (90°/o 

 by vol.), 30 g. water and 25 g. peroxide of hydrogen (12°/o). After standing 

 for one to two months the taste of this mixture was compared with that 



*) U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bull. No. 219. 

 2 ) Apotheker Ztg. 27 (1912), 19. 



